MAY    3   1915 


The  Place  of  Pra 
in  the  Christian 
ReUgion 


>7/  In 


rii 


^ 


JAMES  M.  CAMPBELL 


THE    METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN 

NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI 


Copyright,  1915,  by 
JAMES    M.   CAMPBELL 

The  Bible  text  used  in  this  volume  is  taken  from  the  American 

Standard  Edition  of  the  Revised  Bible,  copyright,  1901,  by 

Thomas   Nelson  &   Sons,  and  is   used  by  permission 


TO  MY  BROTHER  IN  THE  SPIRIT,  THE 
REV.  HUGH  C.  WADDELL,  DIRECTOR 
OF  THE  LOS  ANGELES  EVANGELICAL 
PRAYER  UNION,  WHO,  MORE  THAN 
ANY  PERSON  I  HAVE  EVER  KNOWN, 
HAS  GIVEN  HIMSELF  UP  TO  THE  PRO- 
MOTION   AND    MINISTRY    OF    PRAYER. 


O  Thou  that  hearest  prayer, 
Unto  thee  shall  all  flesh  come. 

— Psa.  65.  2, 


CONTENTS 
INTRODUCTORY 

PAGE 

Distinctive  Elements  in  Christian  Prayer 13 

PART  FIRST 
THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER  IN  THE  LIFE  AND 
TEACHING  OF    JESUS 

'^XZ^HAPTER  I.    The  Place  of  Prayer  in  the  Life  of 

Jesus 21 

Chapter  II.    The  Ordinary  Life  of  Jesus  Full  of 

Prayer 24 

Chapter  III.    Jesus  Met  Every  Crisis  in  His  Life 

WITH  Prayer 27 

•'I.  He  Began  His  Public  Ministry  with  Prayer 27 

2.  He  Prayed  Before  the  Choosing  of  the  Twelve.  .  .     29 

3.  He  Prayed  for  Strength  to  Overcome  the  Subtle 

Dangers  of  Success 32 

4.  He  Ppayed  Before  Giving  to  His   Disciples  the 

Full  Disclosure  of  the  Nature  of  His  Messiah- 
ship  34 

5.  He  Was  Transfigured  in  Prayer 35 

6.  He  Prayed  in  Gethsemane  as  He  Entered  His 

Final  Passion 38 

7.  He  Prayed  on  the  Cross 41 

Chapter   IV.    Prayer   an   Integral   Part   of   His 

Redemptive  Work 43 

1.  He  Prayed  for  Little  Children 43 

2.  He  Prayed  for  Individuals 45 

3.  He  Prayed  for  His  Enemies 47 

4.  He  Prayed  on  Behalf  of  His  Friends 48 

5.  He  Prayed  for  His  Disciples 49 

7 


8  CONTENTS 

PART  SECOND 

THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER  IN  THE  TEACHING  OF 
JESUS 

PAGE 

Chapter  I.    The  Model  Prayer 59 

I.  It  Strikes  the  Note  of  Universality 61 

'  2.  It  I^  an  Organic  Whole 61 

3.  It  Expresses  a  New  Conception  of  God 62 

4.  It  Places  God's  Glory  Before  Our  Personal  Good. .  65 
^;  5.  It  Sets  Forth  the  Supremacy  of  the  Spiritual  in 

Prayer 68 

"^^  6.  It  Emphasizes  the  Social  Element  in  Prayer 71 

Chapter  II.    The  Spirit  in  Which  We  Are  to  Pray  .  74 

1.  We  are  Taught  to  Pray  with  Sincerity 74 

2.  With  Thoughtfulness 75 

3.  With  a  Forgiving  Spirit 77 

4.  With  Self-Denial 78 

5.  With  Watchfulness 79 

6.  With  Importimity 80 

7.  With  Persistency 81 

8.  With  Humility 83 

9.  With  Confidence  in  God's  Responsiveness 85 

Chapter  III.    General  Teachings 89 

1.  On  Secret  Prayer 89 

2.  The  Almightiness  of  the  Prayer  of  Faith 92 

3.  Exceptions 95 

4.  Prayer  as  a  Means  of  Discipline 99 

5.  Baffled  Prayers 103 

6.  Untapped  Resources 107 

7.  The  Absoluteness  of  the  Spiritual no 

8.  A  Wrong  Conception  of  Prayer 113 

9.  God's  Desire  for  Our  Prayers 117 

10.  The  Smallest  Social  Denominator 121 

1 1.  A  Missionary  Prayer 123 

12.  Prayer  as  Related  to  the  Immanence  of  God 126 

13.  A  New  Epoch  in  the  Life  of  Prayer 129 

14.  A  Twofold  Condition  of  Prevailing  Prayer 132 


CONTENTS  9 

PART  THIRD 

THE  PLACE   OF  PRAYER  AMONG  THE  EARLIER 
FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 

PAGE 

Chapter  I.    The  Place  of  Prayer  in  the  Acts  of 

THE  Apostles 137 

1.  The  Pentecostal  Prayer  Meeting 138 

2.  A  Second  Pentecost 141 

3.  Fellowship  in  Prayer 143 

4.  Making  a  Business  of  Prayer 145 

5.  Praying  to  Jesus 148 

6.  Prayer  and  Miracle 150 

7.  The  Acceptable  Prayer  of  a  Non-Christian  Wor- 

shiper     153 

8.  Prayer  for  Spiritual  Equipment 155 

PART  FOURTH 

THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER  IN  THE  LIFE  AND 
WRITINGS  OF  THE  APOSTLES 

Chapter  I.    In  the  Life  and  Writings  of  Paul 161 

1.  Individualizing  in  Prayer 165 

2.  The  Deeper  Answer 167 

3.  Desire  and  Prayer 169 

4.  Working  in  Prayer 171 

5.  Prayer  a  Form  of  Service 174 

6.  The  Sacrifice  of  the  Lower  for  the  Higher 178 

7.  Applied  Prayer 179 

8.  Praying  in  the  Spirit 182 

9.  The  Cry  of  the  Child  to  the  Father 185 

10.  Intercession  the  Crown  and  Glory  of  Prayer 188 

11.  The  Universality  of  Prayer 191 

12.  The  Anticipatory  Element  in  Prayer 195 

13.  Unceasing  Prayer 197 

14.  Prayer  as  a  Habit 201 

15.  Looking  for  the  Answer 202 


lo  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Chapter  II.    The  Place  of  Prayer  in  the  Epistle 

TO  THE  Hebrews 205 

1.  The  Throne  of  Grace 205 

2.  The  Everliving  Intercessor 209 

3.  A  New  Way  of  Approach 210 

4.  Things  to  Be  Assumed  in  Prayer 214 

Chapter  III.    The  Place  of  Prayer  in  the  Life  and 

Writings  of  James 216 

1.  Prayer  for  Wisdom 216 

2.  Unofifered  and  Unavailing  Prayer 218 

3.  God  Meeting  Man  More  Than  Half  Way 220 

4.  The  Therapeutic  Value  of  Prayer 222 

5.  Prayer  as  a  Working  Force 225 

Chapter  IV.    The  Place  of  Prayer  in  the  Life  and 

Writings  of  Peter 228 

1.  The  Priesthood  of  Believers 229 

2.  A  Hindrance  to  Prayer 231 

3.  A  Listening  God 232 

4.  Sobriety  of  Spirit  in  Prayer 233 

Chapter  V.    The  Place  of  Prayer  in  the  Life  and 

Writings  of  John 235 

1.  Oneness  with  the  Divine  Will 236 

2.  A  Limit  to  Prayer 238 

3.  A  Striking  Prayer 239 

4.  Prayers  Treasured  Up 240 

5.  The  Final  Prayer  of  the  New  Testament 241 

PART  FIFTH 

THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER  IN  THE  CHRISTIAN 
CHURCH 

Chapter  I.    Personal  Prayer 245 

1.  Private  Prayer 245 

2.  Silent  Prayer 247 

3.  Ejaculatory  Prayer 248 

4.  Oral  Prayer 249 


CONTENTS  II 

PAGE 

Chapter  II.    Family  Prayer 256 

Chapter  III.    Social  Prayer 259 

Chapter  IV.     Public  Prayer 262 

Chapter  V.    Prayer  in  the  Great  Assemblies  of 

the  Church 269 

PART  SIXTH 

THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER  IN  THE  CHRISTIANITY 
OF  TO-DAY 

vi.  The  Present-Day  Movement  Toward  a  Deeper 
Spirituality  Is  Favorable  to  the  Promotion  of 
Prayer 276 

2.  The  Reaction  from  the  Present-Day  MateriaHstic 

Drift,  Which  Is  Already  Setting  in,  Will  Bring  a 
Revival  of  the  Spirit  and  Life  of  Prayer 278 

3.  The  Enlarging  Vision  and  Scope  of  Life  Is  a  Call 

to  Prayer 280 

4.  The  Modern  Scientific   Spirit   Is^  Bringing  Reen- 

forcement  to  the  Spirit  of  Devotion 28 1 

5.  The  New  Psychology  Is  Preparing  the  Way  for  a 

Better  Understanding  of  Prayer 284 

6.  The    Trend    of    Modern    Thought    Is    Throwing 

Light  Upon  the  Relation  of  Prayer  to  Law ....   290 

7.  A  Clearer  Recognition  of  the  Rationale  of  Prayer 

Is  Putting  It  Upon  a  Firmer  Footing 294 

8.  The  Ability  of  Prayer  to  Stand  the  Pragmatic 

Test  Is  Winning  Back  the  Faith  of  Many 297 


INTRODUCTORY 

DISTINCTIVE  ELEMENTS  IN  CHRISTIAN 
PRAYER 

The  instinct  to  pray  is  ineradicable.  Men  every- 
where pray.  They  pray  before  they  are  taught. 
They  pray  because  they  must.  They  can  no  more 
help  praying  than  they  can  help  breathing.  They 
often  pray  blindly  and  uncertainly,  but  they  keep 
on  praying.  The  way  in  which  they  pray  indicates 
the  measure  of  their  religious  development.  In- 
deed, a  history  of  prayer  would  be  a  history  of  the 
religious  life  of  mankind. 

In  Christianity  prayer  has  reached  its  highest 
water  mark.  The  amazed  onlookers  who  said  of 
the  earlier  followers  of  Jesus,  "Behold  how  these 
Christians  love,"  might  with  equal  propriety  have 
said,  "Behold  how  these  Christians  pray."  No 
other  worshipers  ever  prayed  after  such  a  fashion. 
They  may  have  prayed  as  earnestly,  but  not  as 
understandingly ;  they  may  have  gained  as  great  a 
nearness  to  God  in  prayer,  but  not  as  comforting  a 
vision  of  his  presence ;  they  may  have  taken  as  firm 
a  grip  upon  God,  but  could  not  have  possessed  as 
clear  a  sense  of  the  ground  of  their  overcoming 
faith.  To  Christian  prayer  belongs  something  of 
the  fullness,  the  largeness,  and  the  richness  which 
belong  to  the  Christian  life  of  which  it  is  a  part. 

13 


14  INTRODUCTORY 

It  contains  certain  distinctive  elements  not  else- 
where to  be  found.  In  vain  we  search  the  sacred 
books  of  the  great  religions  of  the  world  for  such 
a  view  of  prayer  as  that  presented  in  the  pages  of 
the  New  Testament.  The  view  there  given  stands 
absolutely  alone. 

Among  the  characteristic  elements  in  New  Testa- 
ment prayer  are  the  following: 

1.  A  New  Conception  of  the  One  to  Whom 
Prayer  Is  Addressed. 

In  the  Old  Testament  God  is  represented  as 
Creator,  and  the  fundamental  thing  in  prayer  is 
creature  dependence ;  in  the  New  Testament  God  is 
represented  as  Father,  and  the  fundamental  thing 
in  prayer  is  filial  confidence.  In  giving  to  his  dis- 
ciples their  first  lesson  in  prayer,  Jesus  said,  "When 
ye  pray,  say,  Our  Father."  He  made  known  to 
them  the  One  to  whom  they  were  to  pray  as  a 
Father  loving  and  tender,  with  whom  every  man 
may  hold  personal  relations,  a  Father  who  is  ever 
accessible;  who  is  responsive  to  every  appeal  of 
every  child,  and  who,  without  having  to  be  pressed 
or  worried  into  compliance,  stands  ready  to  give 
him  whatever  he  asks  and  needs  as  soon  as  he  is 
prepared  to  receive  it  and  use  it. 

2.  A  New  Way  of  Approach  into  the  Divine 
Presence. 

That  "new  way"  is  Christ  himself.  "No  one 
Cometh  unto  the  Father,"  he  himself  says,  "but  by 


INTRODUCTORY  15 

me"  (John  14.  6).  This  new  way  of  approach  is 
said  to  be  *'in  his  name."  The  Christian  is  to  pray- 
in  his  name,  inasmuch  as  through  his  completed 
sacrifice  the  kingdom  of  heaven  has  been  opened 
to  all  believers.  By  praying  in  his  name  the  dis- 
ciple stands  in  his  Master's  place,  and  becomes  so 
completely  identified  with  him  that  what  belongs 
to  Christ  he  claims  as  his  own. 

3.  A  New  Aid  in  Prayer, 

In  the  struggle  of  his  heart  to  rise  heavenward, 
in  his  effort  to  utter  the  thoughts  and  feelings  that 
stir  within  him,  man  is  no  longer  alone.  By  his 
side,  all  unseen,  stands  an  abiding  Helper — even 
the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Comforter,  in  the  sphere  of 
whose  enlightening  influence  his  prayer  is  to  be 
made,  and  in  the  sphere  of  whose  upholding  and 
directing  power  his  prayer  becomes  effective. 

4.  A  New  Conception  of  Prayer  as  a  Thing  of 
the  Spirit, 

It  is  no  longer  identified  with  altars  and  shrines, 
but  is  so  spiritualized  and  universalized  that  any 
spot  on  earth  may  be  a  holy  temple  where  worship- 
ing souls  may  hold  communion  with  the  unseen  and 
immanent  Father. 

5.  A  New  View  of  Prayer  as  Something  which 
Is  Concerned  More  with  Man's  Higher  than  with 
His  Lower  Interests, 

Temporal  things  are  not  excluded  from  the  range 
of  prayer's  objects,  but  with  the  true  Christian  they 


i6  INTRODUCTORY 

are  always  made  subordinate.  In  prayer,  as  in 
everything  else,  he  fixes  his  supreme  desires  upon 
spiritual  and  eternal  things.  He  seeks  "first  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness."  In  the 
words  of  The  Agrapa  as  quoted  by  Origen,  "He  asks 
great  things,  and  little  things  are  added;  he  asks 
heavenly  things,  and  earthly  things  are  added."  By 
reversing  this  order,  and  standing  on  unchristian 
ground,  shipwreck  of  faith  in  prayer  has  often 
taken  place. 

6.  A  New  Vision  of  the  Scope  of  Prayer  as 
Embracing  All  Sorts  and  Conditions  of  Men. 

This  large  vision,  which  Christianity  alone  gives, 
frees  the  praying  soul  from  every  vestige  of  nar- 
rowness, raises  him  above  all  distinctions  of  rank 
and  race,  and  leads  him  in  his  supplication  to  en- 
girdle the  globe  with  a  love  and  sympathy  as  broad 
as  God's  eternal  purpose  of  grace.  The  man  who 
does  not  pray  in  this  catholic  spirit  for  all  sorts 
and  conditions  of  men  is  not  praying  in  a  Christian 
fashion. 

Much  of  the  praying  done  within  Christian  circles 
is  pre-Christian.  It  has  Judaistic  or  pagan  elements 
clinging  to  it.  It  is  keyed  too  low ;  in  its  spirit  and 
scope  it  falls  below  the  Christian  standard,  and 
needs  to  be  born  again,  that  it  may  occupy  the  high 
place  in  the  spiritual  kingdom  which  belongs  to 
Christianized  prayer. 

It  is  surely  a  great  advantage  to  be  living  in  the 
Christian  dispensation,  and  to  come  into  possession 


INTRODUCTORY  17 

of  the  spiritual  inheritance  which  in  "the  fullness 
of  the  times"  has  come  through  Christ  to  the  race. 
There  are  in  Christian  prayer  heights  of  privilege 
and  power  to  which  we  seldom  rise.  The  place  to 
which  it  leads  us  is  the  inner,  and  not  the  outer 
court  of  God's  temple.  It  brings  God  near ;  it  opens 
heaven;  it  brings  within  our  reach  the  glorious 
riches  of  the  spiritual  universe. 

To  unfold  the  Christian  view  of  prayer,  as  it  is 
revealed  in  the  New  Testament  and  as  it  has  been 
slowly  developing  in  Christian  consciousness  and 
struggling  for  expression  in  Christian  life,  is  the 
object  for  which  the  following  pages  have  been 
written.  And  the  hope  is  cherished  that  many  who 
read  them  may  not  only  be  delivered  from  error 
upon  this  important  subject  but  may  be  led  to  pray 
in  a  better  way,  with  more  winsome  views  of  God; 
in  a  filial  rather  than  in  a  legalistic  spirit,  with  a 
clearer  understanding  of  the  laws  which  govern 
the  answers  to  prayer,  and  with  a  firmer  conviction 
of  the  practical  value  of  prayer  itself. 


PART  FIRST 

THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER  IN  THE 
LIFE  AND  TEACHING  OF  JESUS 


19 


CHAPTER   I 

THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER   IN   THE  LIFE  OF 
JESUS 

Jesus,  the  founder  of  the  Christian  religion,  was 
a  man  of  prayer.  Prayer  formed  the  warp  and 
woof  of  his  daily  life.  It  was  the  atmosphere  in 
which  he  lived  and  moved  and  had  his  being.  Per- 
haps no  other  feature  of  his  many-sided  life  was 
more  marked  than  its  prayerfulness.  He  was  al- 
ways in  the  spirit  of  prayer.  All  the  avenues  of 
his  soul  were  kept  open  toward  heaven.  Like  the 
diver  who  goes  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  he 
kept  his  communication  unbroken  with  the  top,  and 
was  thereby  enabled  to  live  unharmed  in  the  poison- 
ous air  of  this  lower  sphere.  His  prayer-life  was 
active  as  well  as  passive.  The  possession  of  the 
spirit  of  prayerfulness  did  not  exalt  him  above  the 
need  of  explicit  acts  of  prayer.  He  was  always 
lifting  up  his  heart  to  God;  he  was  often  upon  his 
knees  pouring  out  his  heart  to  God.  As  the  greatest 
religious  leader  of  all  times  Jesus  furnishes  the 
most  shining  example  of  the  power  of  prayer. 
Never  man  prayed  like  this  man.  It  is  an  open 
secret  that  his  ideal  life,  the  influence  of  which  was, 
of  all  lives  ever  lived  on  this  earth,  the  deepest,  the 
widest,  the  sweetest,  was  rooted  in  a  sense  of  de- 
pendence upon  God,  and  was  nourished  by  prayer. 

21 


22  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

In  every  respect  save  one,  Jesus  was  our  example 
in  prayer — he  never  prayed  for  the  forgiveness  of 
sin.  "He  was  holy,  guileless,  undefiled,  and  sepa- 
rated" not  "from  sinners"  only,  but  also  from  saints. 
He  had  the  loneliness  of  a  mountain-peak  experi- 
ence. It  is  noteworthy  that  he  never  prayed  with 
his  disciples ;  and  when  the  impulse  seized  them,  as 
it  must  often  have  done,  to  kneel  down  beside  him 
as  he  prayed,  something  held  them  back.  They 
instinctively  felt  that  a  great  gulf  lay  between  him 
and  them.  In  their  consciousness  of  sin  he  did  not 
share;  hence  he  had  no  confession  of  it  to  make, 
and  no  forgiveness  of  it  to  ask.  But  he  was  in  all 
points  tempted  like  as  they  were;  he  had  the  same 
need  of  help,  and  the  same  source  from  which  to 
draw  it.  His  God  was  their  God;  his  Father  was 
their  Father;  his  resources  were  those  which  were 
equally  open  to  them.  "Made  like  unto  his 
brethren,"  partaking  with  them  in  all  their  generic 
experiences,  he  could  and  did  enter  into  all  human 
aspirations  and  longings  of  which  prayer  is  the 
natural  expression. 

As  the  ideal  man  he  walked  in  the  common  way 
of  faith.  He  had  perfect  confidence  in  the  Father; 
he  beHeved  in  the  rational  order  of  the  universe; 
he  believed  in  the  final  outworking  of  the  purpose 
of  eternal  love.  Living  a  life  of  faith,  he  lived  a 
life  of  prayer.  Believing  without  ceasing,  he  prayed 
without  ceasing.  As  "the  leader  and  perfecter  of 
our  faith"  (Heb.  12.  2)  he  became  the  leader  and 
perfecter  of  our  prayer-life.    He  taught  us  to  pray, 


IN   THE   LIFE   OF  JESUS  23 

and  what  to  pray  for;  he  trod  the  path  of  prayer 
before  us;  he  prayed  his  way  through  difficul- 
ties otherwise  impassable;  and  when  his  work  on 
earth  was  accomplished  he  entered  heaven  with 
prayer. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  ORDINARY  LIFE  OF  JESUS  WAS  FULL 
OF  PRAYER 

Prayer  was  its  very  soul  and  essence.  It  was 
the  means  by  which  its  lofty  aims  reached  fulfill- 
ment. 

As  revealing  his  prevailing  habit  we  read  such 
words  as  these :  ''In  the  morning,  a  great  while  be- 
fore day,  he  rose  up  and  went  out,  and  departed 
into  a  desert  place,  and  there  prayed"  (Mark  i.  35). 
"He  withdrew  himself  in  the  deserts,  and  prayed" 
(Luke  5.  16).  The  word  that  in  these  instances  is 
used  for  ''prayer"  denotes  prayer  in  its  more  gen- 
eral and  formal  sense.  It  means,  literally,  the  ex- 
pression of  one's  wish.  It  implies  something  more 
than  living  in  the  atmosphere  of  prayer,  waiting 
receptively  upon  God;  it  relates  to  special  personal 
out-breathed  desires,  the  active  reaching  up  of  the 
soul  to  God. 

To  secure  uninterrupted  converse  with  God, 
Jesus  went  apart  from  his  disciples,  apart  from  the 
people  that  thronged  him,  stealing  away  at  early 
morn  or  at  nightfall,  seeking  the  solitude  of  some 
bleak  mountain  fastness.  He  accepted  the  isolation 
which  is  the  lot  of  every  praying  soul.  It  was  part 
of  the  price  of  spiritual  leadership  and  power.  But 
while  alone  he  was  not  lonely.     When  most  alone 

24 


IN   THE   LIFE   OF   JESUS  25 

he  was  least  alone.  When  separated  from  his  kind 
he  was  penetrated  and  interpenetrated  with  a  sense 
of  his  Father's  presence. 

It  was  for  his  own  sake,  first  of  all,  that  he 
sought  seclusion.  He  sought  it  that  he  might  with- 
out interruption  lift  up  the  face  of  his  spirit  into 
the  face  of  "the  Father  of  spirits,"  "lay  open  all  the 
depths  of  his  being  to  the  full  and  filling  influx  of 
the  Father's  mind  and  will  and  heart."  He  had 
need  of  inward  renewal;  he  needed  to  recuperate 
his  wasted  energy  after  a  day  of  exhaustive  toil; 
and  to  prepare  himself  for  the  day  that  was  about  to 
dawn.  His  primal  object  in  prayer  was  to  get 
ready  for  action.  Frugal  as  he  was  in  the  expendi- 
ture of  his  life-force,  every  part  and  particle  of  it 
being  made  to  tell  for  the  best  results,  he  spent  a 
great  part  of  it  in  the  exercise  of  prayer.  The  time 
thus  employed  was  not  lost.  No  part  of  his  life 
counted  for  more. 

And  if  Jesus,  "The  Holy  One  of  God,"  felt  the 
need  of  communion  with  God  for  inward  renewal 
in  the  wear  and.tear  of  life,  how  much  more  urgent 
should  be  our  sense  of  need?  When  drained  of 
strength  by  the  strain  and  stress  of  the  day  that  is 
past,  or  when  facing  with  shrinking  of  heart  the 
task  of  the  day  that  is  coming,  how  eager  should 
we  be  to  tap,  by  prayer,  the  fountain  of  divine  life 
and  energy.  The  busiest  among  us  ought  not  to 
grudge  the  time  necessary  for  the  refilling  of  the 
empty  reservoir.  As  "a  bird's  wings  add  to  the 
weight  of  the  body,  but  when  she  learns  to  use 


26  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

them  they  enable  her  to  fly,"  so  prayer,  instead  of 
hindering  in  the  work  of  life,  gives  to  it  greater 
efficiency.  The  man  who  prays  gets  something 
into  his  Hfe  that  the  man  who  does  not  pray  misses. 
He  has  meat  to  eat  that  the  world  knows  not  of. 
The  man  who  stops  to  repair  the  broken  buckle  is 
the  man  who  wins  in  life's  race.  The  man  who, 
alike  in  the  parched  weariness  of  the  evening  and 
in  the  dewy  sweetness  and  freshness  of  the  morn- 
ing, turns  aside  for  a  while  to  nourish  the  life  of  his 
soul  by  communion  with  God  is  the  man  who  in 
steadfastness  of  purpose  holds  on  his  way  amid  all 
difficulties  and  discouragements  until  he  has  finished 
the  work  that  the  Father  has  given  him  to  do. 


CHAPTER  III 

JESUS  MET  EVERY  CRISIS  IN  HIS  LIFE  WITH 
PRAYER 

In  every  emergency  prayer  was  his  unfailing  re- 
source. He  never  took  any  important  step  without 
consulting  the  Father;  he  never  walked  in  an  un- 
known way  without  taking  hold  of  the  Father's 
hand ;  he  never  faced  any  difficulty  without  implor- 
ing the  Father's  aid.  Every  new  crisis  in  his  life 
was  a  fresh  call  to  prayer. 

I.  He  Began  His  Public  Ministry  with  Prayer, 

"Now  it  came  to  pass  .  .  .  that,  Jesus  also  having 
been  baptized,  and  praying,  the  heaven  was  opened, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  descended  in  a  bodily  form,  as 
a  dove,  upon  him,  and  a  voice  came  out  of  heaven. 
Thou  art  my  beloved  Son,  in  thee  I  am  well  pleased" 
(Luke  3.  21,  22).  Luke,  who  gives  us  "the  kneeling 
Christ,"  adds  to  the  picture  of  his  baptism  given  by 
the  other  evangelists  the  significant  touch  that  as 
Jesus  stepped  from  the  waters  of  baptism,  he 
prayed.  The  words  of  his  prayer  are  not  recorded, 
but  it  is  said  that  as  he  engaged  in  prayer  three 
things  took  place: 

(i)  ''The  heaven  was  opened,"  or,  as  Mark,  in 
his  energetic  fashion,  puts  it,  "was  rent  asunder." 
The  parting  of  the  lower  skies  was  symbolical  of 

27 


28  THE  PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

i  the  opening  to  his  vision  of  the  higher  spiritual 
7  realm.  To  this  vision  all  his  experience  had  led 
up;  and  in  it  all  his  preparation  culminated.  He 
had  now  come  to  spiritual  maturity,  and  to  the  full- 
ness of  his  Messianic  consciousness.  Heaven 
)  opened  to  his  soul  because  his  soul  opened  to 
heaven.  He  felt  himself  related  to  the  upper 
sphere.  His  life  was  part  of  the  infinite  and  the 
eternal.  The  vision  which  comes  in  some  measure 
to  every  praying  soul  when  the  invisible  world 
stands  open  and  heaven  and  earth  are  seen  to  be 
inseparably  united,  had  come  to  him  in  fullness. 

(2)  ''The  Holy  Spirit  descended  tip  on  him''  in 
bodily  form  as  a  dove.  The  object  of  the  Spirit's 
descent,  and  of  his  sensible  contact,  was  doubtless 
to  equip  him  for  the  work  upon  which  he  was 
entering,  and  the  form  which  the  Spirit  assumed 
indicated  the  dovelike  qualities  of  gentleness  and 
purity  with  which  he  was  to  be  endowed. 

Whatever  else  his  baptism  signified,  it  was  an 
act  of  supreme  self-consecration;  it  was  a  sacrifi- 
cial dedication  of  himself  to  his  Messianic  mission, 
not  only  in  the  way  of  fulfilling  all  ceremonial 
righteousness  as  an  ideal  IsraeHte,  and  all  moral 
righteousness  as  an  ideal  man,  but  also  in  the  way 
of  fulfilling  all  righteousness  as  God's  Anointed, 
who  had  accepted  the  task  of  bringing  the  world 
into  possession  of  its  spiritual  inheritance.  Con- 
scious of  the  greatness  of  the  undertaking,  and  of 
his  need  of  divine  assistance,  he  prayed  for  wisdom 
and  strength.     In  answer  to  his  prayer  the  Holy 


IN   THE   LIFE   OF   JESUS  29 

Spirit  descended  upon  him  in  fullness  of  power,  as 
his  abiding  Helper;  as  he  does  upon  every  uplook- 
ing,  consecrated  soul. 

(3)  ''A  voice  came  out  of  heaven,"  Following 
the  heavenly  vision,  and  the  heavenly  enduement, 
came  the  heavenly  voice,  in  which  the  Father  ac- 
claimed him  as  his  well-beloved  Son,  in  whom  he 
was  well  pleased.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  it  was 
his  praying  Son  in  whom  the  Father  expressed 
his  confidence,  and  upon  whom  he  set  the  seal  of 
his  approbation.  In  the  act  of  prayer  itself  he  saw 
an  evidence  of  fitness  for  the  work  of  human  re- 
demption which  the  Son  had  undertaken.  His  elect 
in  whom  his  soul  delighted  was  a  praying  man  who 
looked  to  him  for  help  at  every  step  in  the  way. 
With  the  attitude  of  prayerful  dependence  he  is 
forever  well  pleased. 

The  lesson  which  here  shines  out  is  that  the  right 
way  to  begin  an  undertaking  is  by  prayer.  When 
so  begun,  when  any  son  of  God  standing  upon 
Hfe's  threshold  girding  himself  for  his  appointed 
task  lifts  his  heart  in  prayer,  the  heaven  above  will 
open  to  him;  the  Spirit  in  all  the  plenitude  of  his 
power  will  descend  upon  him,  equipping  him  for 
his  work ;  and  the  Father  will,  in  some  definite  way, 
acknowledge  him  as  one  in  whom  he  is  well  pleased. 

2.  He  Prayed  Before  the  Choosing  of  the  Twelve. 

"It  came  to  pass  in  these  days,  that  he  went  out 
into  the  mountain  to  pray;  and  he  continued  all 
night  in  prayer  to  God"  (Luke  6.  12).    Literally,  it 


30  THE  PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

reads  that  "He  continued  all  night  in  the  prayer  of 
God."  This  is  an  expression  not  found  elsewhere. 
What  it  means  is  that  his  prayer  had  its  origin  and 
its  end  in  God.  It  was  divinely  inspired  and  divinely 
guided. 

The  specific  object  of  his  night-long  prayer  we 
learn  from  the  context.  After  his  vigil  was  over, 
**in  the  morning,  when  it  was  day,  he  called  his 
disciples  and  chose  from  them  twelve,  whom  he 
named  apostles."  It  was  with  Jesus  a  time  of  great 
anxiety.  He  needed  light  so  as  to  choose  wisely 
the  leaders  of  his  church.  He  knew  how  much 
hung  upon  the  selection  which  had  to  be  made. 
How  was  he  to  judge  aright  touching  the  poten- 
tialities which  lay  concealed  in  the  members  of  his 
little  band  of  disciples?  Could  he  trust  his  own 
unaided  wisdom  in  deciding  who  among  them 
should  be  his  standard  bearers?  In  his  perplexity 
he  did  what  all  true  souls  have  ever  done — he 
prayed  for  light  and  leading.  He  hied  away  to  the 
mountain-side,  probably  to  the  twin  peaks  known  as 
"the  horns  of  Hattin,"  that  in  the  soHtude  of  nature 
he  might  be  alone  with  God  and,  free  from  dis- 
traction, hearken  to  his  voice.  As  he  waited  in  the 
presence  of  the  Father,  thinking  of  the  choice  that 
had  to  be  made  on  the  morrow,  one  by  one  his 
disciples  passed  in  review  before  his  mental  vision ; 
he  weighed  their  merits,  balanced  their  qualifica- 
tions, singled  them  out,  until  he  knew  unerringly 
the  place  for  which  each  one  was  fitted  in  the  work 
of  his  Kingdom. 


IN   THE   LIFE   OF   JESUS  31 

The  word  here  used  to  denote  the  act  of  prayer 
literally  signifies  the  outpouring  of  the  soul  before 
God.  Jesus  continued  all  night  pouring  out  his 
soul  in  a  stream  of  holy  desire.  The  flight  of  time 
was  forgotten  in  his  absorption  of  thought,  and  in 
the  delight  he  experienced  in  communion  with  the 
Father.  He  did  not  shorten  prayer,  having  as 
Matthew  Henry  remarks,  "a  great  deal  of  business 
at  the  throne  of  grace."  He  waited  until  the 
answer  came,  until  he  read  his  Father's  mind  and 
got  his  point  of  view.  He  had  gone  up  the  moun- 
tain at  midnight  with  a  perplexed  and  uncertain 
mind,  he  came  down  in  the  morning  with  every 
vestige  of  perplexity  and  hesitancy  cleared  away.v 
He  was  sure  of  himself  because  he  was  sure  of  God. 

In  the  life  of  every  Christian  similar  periods  of 
protracted  prayer  will  occasionally  be  called  for; 
times  when  prayer  cannot  be  shortened.  And  it  will 
always  be  found  that  those  who  can  safely  shorten 
prayer  are  those  who  on  the  great  occasions  have 
learned  to  continue  long  in  prayer.  The  story  is 
often  told  of  Bengel,  the  commentator,  how  that 
at  the  close  of  a  busy  day  he  was  overheard  to 
pray,  "Lord  Jesus,  it  is  just  the  same  as  ever  be- 
tween thee  and  me."  That  was  all,  but  behind  that 
brief  prayer  lay  long  periods  of  intimate  fellow- 
ship; and  it  was  in  those  protracted  seasons  of 
fellowship  that  the  intimate  friendship  was  formed, 
which  allowed  so  much  to  be  taken  for  granted. 
There  are  times  when  we  must  remain  long  on  the 
mountain  of  prayer,  and  wrestle  with  some  great 


32  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

difficulty  which  we  are  powerless  to  overcome; 
times  when  the  skein  of  life  has  become  so  hope- 
lessly tangled  that  there  is  nothing  left  but  to  put 
it  into  the  hands  of  the  All-Father  and  patiently 
wait  until  he  unravels  it.  When  direction  is  sought 
we  must  continue  in  prayer  until  the  light  breaks 
and  everything  is  made  plain.  After  a  night  of 
waiting  in  holy  confidence  upon  God,  light  cometh 
in  the  morning,  the  skies  clear,  questioning  ends, 
doubts  vanish,  and  the  divinely  guided  soul  walks 
with  firm  and  certain  step  in  the  path  where  before 
his  feet  had  stumbled. 

3.  He  Prayed  for  Strength  to  Overcome  the 
Subtle  Dangers  of  Success. 

"After  he  had  sent  the  multitudes  away,  he 
went  up  into  the  mountain  apart  to  pray :  and  when 
even  was  come,  he  was  there  alone"  (Matt.  14.  23). 
It  was  the  hour  of  his  greatest  popularity.  Elec- 
trified by  the  display  of  his  wonder-working  power, 
the  people  wished  to  take  him  by  force  and  make 
him  a  king.  They  caught  him  at  a  moment  of 
weakness.  Although  possessed  of  kingly  rights, 
he  was  destitute  of  kingly  prerogatives.  Of  the 
insignia  of  royalty  had  he  none.  Why  should  he 
not  accept  the  homage  of  the  people  and  enter  at 
once  into  his  inheritance?  Why  should  he  not  de- 
clare himself  the  rightful  heir  of  the  throne  of  his 
father  David  ?  The  temptation  was  real  and  strong : 
and  Jesus  fled  from  it,  and  took  refuge  in  prayer. 

In  this  struggle  the  temptation  of  the  wilderness 


IN   THE   LIFE   OF  JESUS  33 

was  renewed.  The  kingdoms  of  the  world  and  the 
glory  of  them  were  again  offered  him  if  he  would 
take  a  lower  path,  and  renounce  the  sovereignty  of 
the  soul  for  the  sovereignty  of  earthly  pomp  and 
power.  To  make  himself  secure  against  the  peril 
of  treading  the  path  of  worldly  glory,  and  of 
seeking  to  find  a  shorter  and  easier  way  to  reach 
his  goal  than  the  way  of  the  cross,  he  prayed.  He 
saw  his  danger,  and  he  knew  only  one  way  to 
escape  it. 

Many  there  be  who  pray  for  strength  in  the  day 
of  adversity,  but  how  few  feel  their  need  to  pray 
for  strength  in  the  day  of  prosperity.  And  yet 
success  is  often  more  dangerous  than  failure.  The 
sun  of  prosperity  is  often  more  destructive  than  the 
frosts  of  adversity.  The  dangers  of  success  are 
dreaded  by  few.  Most  people  are  willing  to  take 
all  the  risks  involved  in  success ;  and  are  not  willing 
to  have  outward  and  temporary  success  denied  them, 
that  their  lives  may  be  saved  unto  higher  ends. 

Perhaps  no  form  of  success  is  more  dangerous 
and  less  dreaded  than  that  which  is  accompanied 
by  popular  favor.  The  slightest  taste  of  popularity 
often  intoxicates  the  strongest  minds.  Those  who 
remain  untouched  by  the  vulgar  lust  for  wealth  are 
carried  away  by  the  more  refined  love  of  power. 
How  subtle  its  temptations !  how  plausible  the  pre- 
texts of  those  who  covet  it!  It  is  seldom  profes- 
sedly sought  for  its  own  sake,  but,  rather,  for  the 
good  that  it  can  accomplish.  When  it  is  won  how 
often  does  it  corrode  and  consume  the  finer  ele- 


V 


34  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

ments  of  character !  Its  insidious  allurements  have 
to  be  carefully  guarded  against;  and  when  they 
have  to  be  "met  and  fought  with  outright"  they 
can  be  overcome  only  by  the  soul  that  comes  forth 
from  the  place  of  secret  communion  panoplied  with 
the  strength  of  God. 

4.  He  Prayed  Before  Giving  to  His  Disciples 
the  Full  Disclosure  of  the  Nature  of  His  Messiah- 
ship, 

This  crisis  is  thus  described,  "It  came  to  pass., 
as  he  was  praying  apart,  the  disciples  were  with 
him :  and  he  asked  them,  saying.  Who  do  the  multi- 
tudes say  that  I  am?  And  they  answering  said, 
John  the  Baptist ;  but  others  say,  Elijah ;  and  others, 
that  one  of  the  old  prophets  is  risen  again.  And 
he  said  unto  them.  But 'who  say  ye  that  I  am? 
And  Peter  answering  said.  The  Christ  of  God" 
(Luke  9.  18-20).  While  he  prayed,  his  disciples, 
restrained  by  mingled  feelings  of  respect  and  awe, 
kept  at  a  distance.  When  his  prayer  was  ended  he 
drew  near.  A  moment  pregnant  with  great  issues 
had  come.  It  was  necessary  that  his  disciples 
should  have  a  clear  conception  of  his  Messianic 
claims;  it  was  necessary  also  that  they  should  be 
brought  to  a  sharp  and  final  decision  regarding 
them.  After  prayer  for  guidance  that  he  might 
meet  the  crisis  by  saying  the  right  thing  in  the 
right  way,  he  asked  the  fateful  question,  "Who  say 
ye  that  I  am?"  Peter  at  once  replies,  "The  Christ 
of  God."  This  confession  was  the  efflorescence  of  a 


IN   THE   LIFE   OF  JESUS  35 

slowly  maturing  faith,  the  outbursting  of  the  vision 
of  divine  glory  which  shone  through  the  humanity 
of  Jesus.  Yet,  noble  as  it  was,  it  concealed  the 
densest  ignorance  concerning  the  nature  of  his 
Messiahship.  Peter  was  evidently  thinking  of  the 
Messiah  as  a  temporal  prince  who  should  restore 
the  kingdom  to  Israel ;  and  so  when  Jesus  began  to 
speak  openly,  and  to  undeceive  him  by  telling  him 
that  the  Messiah  would  be  a  suffering  Saviour,  he 
would  have  none  of  it.  A  Messiahship  that  involved 
a  cross  none  of  the  disciples  could  understand. 
Perplexed,  bewildered,  disappointed,  they  still 
clung  to  the  Master,  but  the  gulf  between  him  and 
them  widened,  and  an  estrangement  followed  which 
was  perhaps  the  bitterest  drop  in  his  cup  of  agony. 
Referring  to  this  time  of  withdrawal,  W.  M. 
Clow  rightly  says  that  it  has  been  "strangely  neg- 
lected," and  that  "its  momentousness  as  an  epoch 
in  his  life,  and  the  depth  and  significance  of  its 
teaching,  have  been  overlooked" ;  but  he  is  certainly 
wrong  in  characterizing  it  as  a  "quiet  season  of 
meditation."  It  was  a  time  of  agony;  an  earlier 
Gethsemane;  and  the  significant  thing  is  that  for 
this  severe  ordeal  he  fortified  his  heart  by  prayer, 
so  that  when  it  came  it  found  him  prepared.  Happy 
are  those  who  have  learned  to  meet  life's  crushing 
disappointments  in  the  same  way. 

5.   He  Was  Transfigured  in  Prayer. 

In  his  account  of  the  transfiguration  Matthew 
states  that  Jesus  took  "Peter,  and  James,  and  John 


«>' 


36  THE  PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

his  brother,  and  bringeth  them  up  into  a  high  moun- 
tain apart:  and  he  was  transfigured  before  them" 
\^j  (^7-  ^)-  ^^^  account  of  Mark  is  similar.  But 
^  Luke,  who  mentions  in  all  six  instances  of  Jesus  in 
prayer,  not  recorded  by  the  other  evangelists,  adds 
that  he  went  up  with  his  chosen  disciples  "into  the 
mountain  to  pray";  and  he  states  still  further  that 
it  was  "as  he  was  praying  the  fashion  of  his  coun- 
tenance was  altered,  and  his  raiment  became  white 
and  dazzling"  (9.  28,  29).  The  praying  of  Jesus 
is  the  key  to  the  interpretation  of  his  transfigura- 
tion. It  was  while  in  close  and  continuous  com- 
munion with  the  Father  that  the  great  change  took 
place,  which  caused  his  countenance  and  his  very 
raiment  to  shine  with  a  splendor  that  dispelled  the 
darkness  of  the  night.  So  marvelous  was  the  change 
which  he  underwent  that  the  awe-struck  disciples 
afterward  tried  in  vain  to  find  words  adequate  to 
describe  it.  "His  garments,"  says  Mark,  "were 
glistening,  exceeding  white,  so  as  no  fuller  on  earth 
could  whiten  them."  Matthew  says,  "his  face  did 
shine  as  the  sun,  and  his  garments  became  white 
as  the  light." 

This  display  of  outward  glory  was  the  out-raying 
of  what  was  within.  It  was  the  momentary  out- 
flashing  not  only  of  what  was  absorbed  in  prayer 
but  of  his  own  divine,  essential  glory.  When  he 
was  brought  into  immediate  contact  with  heaven  he 
was  revealed  as  belonging  to  it.  In  his  transfigura- 
tion the  glory  of  his  resurrection  body  was  also 
prefigured;  so  that  those  who  were  eyewitnesses 


t^'' 


IN   THE   LIFE   OF  JESUS  37 

of  his  humiliation,  being  also  "eyewitnesses  of 
his  majesty,"  had  all  their  doubts  put  forever  at 
rest  touching  the  triumph  of  his  Messianic  King- 
dom. 

In  the  saintliest  lives  there  are  transfiguration 
moments;  moments  when  heaven  and  earth  meet; 
moments  when  the  divine  glory  breaks  through  its 
mortal  concealments;  moments  when  weakness  and 
humiHation  are  swallowed  up  in  the  light  of 
heaven's  renewing  and  transforming  grace.  These 
are  ever  the  moments  of  close  and  hallowed  divine 
communion. 

To  get  near  the  heavenly  glory  is  to  possess  it.  ^^ 
"Get  close  to  the  seller  of  perfume  if  you  would  be 
fragrant,"  says  the  Arabian  proverb.  Get  close  to 
God  if  you  would  have  your  poor,  weak  life  lighted 
up  with  his  glory.  "Communion  with  God  issues^ 
ever  in  a  transfigured  life,"  remarks  Dr.  G.  Camp- 
bell Morgan.  It  makes  the  soul  shine  in  the  midst 
of  darkness  of  this  world  with  something  of  the 
brightness  of  heaven. 

That  the  transfiguration  of  Jesus  came  before 
Gethsemane  and  Calvary,  to  prepare  the  disciples 
for  them,  has  frequently  been  noted;  but  it  has  just 
as  frequently  been  overlooked  that  it  came  after  a 
period  of  loneliness  and  depression.  Each  of  the 
three  synoptists  is  careful  to  state  that  it  took  place 
about  a  week  after  the  annunciation  of  his  Messiah-  ( 
ship.  That  week  was  a  time  of  silence  and  of  great 
soul-travail.  The  shadow  of  the  cross  flung  itself 
across  his  pathway.    One  day  of  darkness  followed 


38  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

another.     No  relief  came  until  he  prostrated  him- 
self before  God  in  prayer. 

With  most  people  it  is  by  the  via  dolorosa  that 
the  mount  of  spiritual  transfiguration  is  won.  After 
days  of  darkness  and  depression  the  face  of  God 
is  sought  in  prayer,  and  Hfe  is  instantly  changed. 
Over  the  praying  soul  heaven  bends  low ;  its  glories 
encompass  him;  its  grace  transforms  him;  and  as 
he  descends  to  the  valley  he  is  enabled  to  meet  in  a 
new  spirit  the  petty  cares  and  arduous  duties  that 
await  him.  He  may  not  be  always  able  afterward 
to  keep  the  heights  which  he  has  gained,  but  he  will 
be  the  better  for  having  gained  them.  The  memory 
of  these  exalted  moments  may  fade,  but  their  in- 
fluence will  remain.  Those  who  have  been  on  the 
mount  of  transfiguration  can  never  go  back  to  the 
low  levels  which  they  occupied  before. 

6.  He  Prayed  in  Gethsemane  as  He  Entered  His 
Final  Passion. 

As  the  year  of  opposition,  which  followed  the 
year  of  popularity,  was  drawing  to  its  tragic  close, 
he  was  driven  to  his  knees  oftener  than  before. 
The  beginning  of  the  final  passion  had  come.  The 
Paschal  Supper  was  ended ;  the  parting  psalm  was 
sung,  and  Jesus  with  his  disciples  went  out  into  the 
night.  They  came  to  Gethsemane,  "the  garden  of 
the  oil  press."  At  the  entrance  he  parted  from 
eight  of  the  twelve,  and  taking  the  three  who  had 
been  with  him  on  the  Mount  went  into  the  deeper 
shadows  of  the  olive  grove,  saying  to  them,  "Sit  ye 


IN   THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS  39 

here,  while  I  pray"  (Mark  14.  32).  "And  he  went 
forward  a  little,  and  fell  on  the  ground,  and  prayed 
that,  if  it  were  possible,  the  hour  might  pass  away 
from  him"  (verse  35).  "And  again  he  went  away, 
and  prayed,  saying  the  same  words"  (verse  39). 
In  this  hour  of  soul-travail  Jesus  was  alone;  as  all 
men  are  in  the  profoundest  experiences  of  life. 
His  disciples  could  go  with  him  only  so  far.  Know- 
ing their  limitations,  much  as  he  yearned  for  their 
closer  friendship  and  sympathy,  he  did  not  say  to 
them,  "Come  with  me  and  pray,"  but  went  himself 
apart  to  pray.  And  as  they  waited  and  watched  in 
the  light  of  the  passover  moon,  and  saw  him  kneel- 
ing, and  heard  him  praying,  they  were  the  amazed 
witnesses  of  a  grief  they  could  not  fathom,  and  in 
which  they  could  not  share.  Like  children  behold- 
ing a  mother's  sorrow,  when  the  stroke  of  bereave- 
ment falls,  they  could  only  look  the  sympathy  they 
felt,  conscious  of  its  utter  inadequacy  to  give  the 
needed  consolation. 

As  Jesus  looked  Into  the  heart  of  his  great  passion 
he  trembled  at  what  he  saw  before  him.  He  shrank 
from  the  cross.  He  was  afraid  that  his  frail  human- 
ity would  give  way,  and  that  he  would  die  with  his 
work  unfinished.  His  prayer,  "Let  this  cup  pass 
from  me,"  was  the  cry  of  a  soul  recoiling  from  the 
ordeal  that  might  prove  too  severe. 

As  his  struggle  deepened,  the  fervency  of  his 
prayer  increased.  "Being  in  agony  he  prayed  more 
earnestly" ;  he  did  not  pray  himself  into  an  agony ; 
he  prayed  himself  out  of  it.    From  emotional  over- 


40  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

strain  aridity  follows.  We  may  pray  our  emotions 
out;  we  may  open  the  sluice  gates  and  empty  the 
reservoir  of  feeling.  Jesus  held  himself  in  re- 
straint; he  obtained  victory  over  weakness.  The 
writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  seeking  to 
interpret  this  profound  experience,  speaks  of  him 
as  our  great  High  Priest,  "Who  in  the  days  of  his 
flesh,  having  offered  up  prayers  and  supplications 
with  strong  crying  and  tears  unto  him  that  was  able 
to  save  him  from  death,  and  having  been  heard  for 
his  godly  fear,  .  .  .  became  unto  all  them  that  obey 
him  the  author  of  eternal  salvation"  (5.  7-9). 

"Having  been  heard."  What  do  those  words 
mean?  Not  that  the  bitter  cup  passed,  for  it  did 
not.  It  was  drunk  to  the  dregs.  The  answer  came 
not  in  the  withdrawal  of  the  cup,  but  in  receiving 
strength  to  drink  it;  not  in  the  escape  from  death, 
but  in  securing  through  death  the  very  object  of 
his  earthly  mission.  If  we  go  deep  enough,  we  find 
that  the  real  object  of  his  prayer  was  not  that  the 
cup  might  pass,  but  that  it  might  pass  if  that  were 
possible.  Possible  on  the  lower  plane  it  certainly 
was;  but  on  the  higher  plane  it  was  not  possible — 
if  the  Father  was  to  be  glorified,  and  the  world 
redeemed.  This  inner  truth  Dr.  George  Mathe- 
son  reaches  when  he  says,  "There  was  a  desire  in 
the  depths  of  his  heart  which  was  expressed  un- 
conditionally:  it  was  that  his  human  will  might  be 
one  with  the  divine  will." 

It  is  said  that  he  was  heard,  "in  that  he  feared." 
What  he  feared  was  not  death  but  failure,  through 


IN   THE   LIFE   OF  JESUS  41 

the  breakdown  of  his  sacrificial  work  by  his  "choos- 
ing a  different  path  from  that  which  his  Father  had 
chosen  for  him."  His  struggle  in  the  Garden  was 
a  struggle  to  keep  up  to  the  highest.  His  prayer 
was  a  prayer  for  strength.  But  he  obtained  the 
victory;  so  that  his  will  was  brought  into  perfect 
accord  with  the  will  of  his  Father,  not  in  the  sense 
of  submitting  to  the  inevitable,  but  in  the  sense  of 
definitely  choosing  to  hold  to  the  supreme  decision 
to  go  on.  His  was  not  a  case  of  passive  submission 
but  of  active  self -surrender. 

The  help  he  sought  and  found  in  prayer  may  be 
ours  also.  We  go  to  dark  Gethsemane  that  we  may 
learn  of  him  to  pray;  and  to  prevail  in  prayer. 
His  conflict  and  his  victory  are  ours;  the  blessed 
fruits  of  his  travail  are  ours. 

Into  the  woods  my  Master  went,  \^ 

Clean  forspent,  forspent. 

Out  of  the  woods  my  Master  went. 
And  he  was  well  content, 
Out  of  the  woods  my  Master  came 
Content  with  death  and  shame. 

And  where  he  went  we  may  follow. 

7.  He  Prayed  on  the  Cross. 

After  uttering  to  the  world  the  words  of  triumph 
and  exultation,  "It  is  finished,"  he  turned  his  face  to 
heaven  and  breathed  out  his  soul  in  the  prayer, 
"Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit" 
(Luke  23.  46).  In  this  prayer  of  commitment 
Jesus  affords  an  example  of  a  filial  confidence  that 


42  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

remained  unbroken  to  the  end.  He  had  walked 
the  human  way  of  faith;  he  had  gone  before  the 
sons  of  men  teaching  them  how  to  live  the  life  of 
faith,  and  giving  them  a  perfect  example  of  a 
faith-filled  life;  he  had  gone  into  that  way  without 
flinching  when  it  led  to  the  cross,  and  now  in  the 
hour  of  final  conflict,  when  he  felt  as  if  he  had  been 
forsaken  of  the  Father,  the  anchor  chain  of  faith 
did  not  snap.  In  the  midst  of  the  awful  darkness 
of  the  cross  he  clung  to  the  hand  of  the  Great 
Unseen,  saying,  "My  God" ;  and  when  the  end  of 
all  came  he  dismissed  his  spirit,  committing  it,  with 
serene  confidence,  into  the  hands  of  the  heavenly 
Father,  believing  that  in  his  keeping  it  would  be 
eternally  safe. 

The  words  of  his  prayer  were  borrowed  from 
an  Old  Testament  writer  who  used  them  in  refer- 
ence to  life  rather  than  to  death.  In  his  deepest 
experiences  Jesus  did  not  hesitate  to  employ,  and 
to  adapt  to  his  special  need,  a  form  of  words  that 
he  found  ready  to  hand.  How  surprised  the  un- 
known writer  of  these  words  would  have  been  had 
he  been  told  that  such  a  use  was  to  be  made  of  them ! 
Since  then  how  many  have  taken  this  prayer  into 
their  lips;  and  in  the  solemn  hour  when  time  and 
eternity  have  met,  and  the  ringing  of  the  bells  on 
the  other  shore  has  been  heard,  have  sent  their 
souls  into  the  invisible  in  the  calm  and  sweet  assur- 
ance that  their  eternal  welfare  was  secure,  because 
their  eternal  all  had  been  deposited  in  the  hands 
of  the  heavenly  Father? 


CHAPTER  IV 

PRAYER  AN  INTEGRAL  PART  OF  HIS 
REDEMPTIVE  WORK 

Jesus  helped  on  the  work  of  human  redemption 
by  prayer.  Not  alone  by  his  teaching  and  example, 
not  alone  by  his  mighty  deeds  and  sacrificial  death 
did  he  affect  for  good  the  hearts  and  Hves  of  men, 
but  also  by  his  prayers.  His  prayers  were  a  dis- 
tinct form  of  redemptive  energy.  They  set  in 
motion  a  stream  of  influence  which  still  flows  on 
unspent.  This  world  is  a  different  place  from  what 
it  would  have  been  had  not  Christ  prayed  in  it 
and  for  it. 

He  prayed,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the  first  instance 
for  himself,  because  he  had  need  of  divine  help, 
and  could  not  render  effective  service  without  it. 
But  he  prayed  mainly  for  others.  His  prayers  were 
as  unselfish  as  the  rest  of  his  fife.  In  them  his 
passion  for  human  weal  was  expressed.  The  world 
which  he  had  come  to  save  lay  upon  his  heart,  and 
his  prayers  on  its  behalf  rose  unceasingly.  And 
inasmuch  as  its  wants  are  so  wide,  and  so  diversi- 
fied, his  prayers,  of  necessity,  took  on  a  great  variety 
of  specialized  forms. 

I.   He  Prayed  for  Little  Children. 
"Then  were  there  brought  unto  him  little  chil- 
43 


44  THE   PLACE   OF  PRAYER 

dren,  that  he  should  lay  his  hands  on  them,  and 
pray"  (Matt.  19.  13).  This  was  probably  his  wont. 
The  instinct  that  led  these  mothers  of  Israel  to 
bring  their  children  to  Jesus  that  he  might  pray  for 
them,  invoking  heaven's  blessing  upon  them,  was 
divinely  implanted  and  divinely  guided.  They  be- 
lieved in  his  love  for  the  children ;  and  they  believed 
that  he  was  in  such  close  touch  with  heaven  that  he 
could  draw  down  blessing  upon  their  heads.  They 
never  seemed  to  have  questioned  that  to  receive  the 
touch  of  his  hand  and  to  secure  an  interest  in  his 
prayers  was  to  obtain  a  substantial  benefit.  The 
way  in  which  that  benefit  was  conveyed  they  might 
not  be  able  to  understand,  but  the  reality  of  it  they 
never  for  a  moment  doubted. 

The  fact  that  he  prayed  for  little  children  reveals 
his  appreciation  of  their  value.  He  saw  the  possi- 
bilities that  lay  hidden  within  them;  he  knew  that 
the  world's  future  would  soon  be  in  their  hands, 
and  he  prayed  that  they  might  be  molded  and  guided 
by  a  higher  power,  so  that  their  lives  might  answer 
their  destined  ends. 

Children  are  sometimes  taught  to  look  back 
regretfully  upon  this  scene,  and  say,  "I  wish  his 
hands  had  been  placed  on  my  head."  Rather  let 
them  be  taught  that  his  hand  is  now  placed  upon 
the  head  of  every  one  of  them  in  blessing.  His 
interest  and  love  are  unabated.  He  still  prays  for 
little  children;  and  the  fact  that  he  does  pray  for 
them  is  one  of  the  strongest  motives  that  ought  to 
lead  us  to  pray  for  them  also. 


IN   THE   LIFE   OF  JESUS  45 

2.   He  Prayed  for  Individuals. 

Of  this  we  have  an  illustrative  instance  in  his 
prayer  for  Peter,  "Simon,  Simon,  behold,  Satan 
asked  to  have  you,  that  he  might  sift  you  as  wheat : 
but  I  made  supplication  for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail 
not'*  (Luke  22.  31,  32).  Peter  was  in  danger,  but 
he  himself  was  unaware  of  it.  His  feet  were  sHp- 
ping  over  th^  brink  of  a  fearful  precipice;  and 
although,  in  his  bHndness,  he  felt  no  special  need 
of  prayer,  the  Master,  who  knew  his  danger,  prayed 
for  him.  In  answer  to  his  prayer  an  unseen  hand 
was  holding  him  back  from  impending  ruin.  An 
unseen  ally,  who  knew  the  designs  of  the  ambushed 
enemy,  and  was  able  to  foil  them,  was  standing  by 
his  side  ready  to  throw  a  protecting  shield  over 
his  defenseless  head.  Satan  begged  to  be  allowed 
to  subject  him  to  some  great  temptation  so  as  to 
sift  the  good  out  of  him,  that  he  might  have  him 
in  his  power  and  accomplish  his  destruction. 

"I  have  prayed  for  thee";  literally,  "I  have  be- 
sought for  thee,"  says  the  Master,  "that  thy  faith 
fail  not."  He  did  not  pray  that  he  might  not  be 
tempted,  6ut  that  he  might  be  given  strength  in  the 
evil  hour  to  withstand  the  assault  of  the  tempter. 
The  thing  that  Jesus  was  concerned  about,  the 
thing  which  he  was  afraid  might  fail,  was  Peter's 
faith.  As  the  citadel  of  the  religious  Hfe  faith  was 
the  point  of  the  enemy's  attack.  To  lose  faith  is 
the  greatest  calamity  that  can  overtake  a  soul.  When 
faith  fails  the  cable  is  broken  that  moors  man  to 


46  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

the  Eternal  and  he  becomes  a  helpless  derelict. 
That  Peter  did  not  lose  his  faith ;  that  after  his  fall 
there  came  a  sudden  rebound,  issuing  in  repentance 
and  recovery,  was  doubtless  due  to  the  prayer  of 
Jesus.  The  prayer  of  Jesus  did  not  keep  Peter 
from  denying  him,  but  it  kept  his  faith  from  being 
utterly  wrecked.  So  certain  was  Jesus  that  his 
prayer  was  heard  that  he  antedates  Peter's  recovery, 
saying,  "When  once  thou  hast  turned  again, 
strengthen  thy  brethren."  Jesus  is  concerned  about 
the  faith  of  every  one  of  his  tempted  disciples,  and 
when  it  is  in  danger  of  failing  he  makes  supplica- 
tion for  him.  He  knows  the  struggle  of  each  heart, 
the  strength  and  subtilty  of  the  temptations  to 
which  each  one  is  exposed.  His  prayer  is  founded 
upon  personal  knowledge  of  each  individual.  He 
considers  each  one  apart,  takes  up  his  case 
separately,  names  him  in  his  prayer;  and  when  he 
foresees  temporary  disaster  awaiting  him  he  does 
not  pray  that  he  may  escape  trial,  but  that  his  faith 
may  not  finally  and  totally  fail,  and  that  from 
momentary  defeat  may  come  permanent  victory. 

The  help  which  the  Master  brings  to  the  en- 
dangered disciples  for  whom  he  prays  is  well  set 
forth  in  Bunyan's  parable  of  a  fire  burning  against 
a  wall,  and  one  standing  nigh  "pouring  water  on  the 
flame,  as  though  to  quench  it" ;  but  the  flame  was 
kept  burning,  because  on  the  back  side  of  the  wall 
there  was  "a  man  with  a  bottle  of  oil  in  his  hand, 
out  of  which  he  constantly  poured,  sending  the  oil 
upon  the  flame."     In  this  way  Christ  by  his  inter- 


IN   THE   LIFE   OF  JESUS  47 

cession   is  constantly   renewing  his   grace   in   our 
hearts. 

3.  He  Prayed  for  His  Enemies, 

On  the  cross  where  he  died  to  atone  for  sin  he 
pleaded  for  the  forgiveness  of  those  who  were 
putting  him  to  death — especially  for  the  soldiers 
who  were  executing  the  orders  of  their  superiors, 
crying  out,  at  the  very  time  they  were  driving  the 
nails  into  his  hands  and  feet,  "Father,  forgive  them ; 
for  they  know  not  what  they  do"  (Luke  23.  34). 
This  prayer  for  mercy  upon  his  murderers,  which 
was  the  first  utterance  from  the  cross,  is  like  a 
flash  of  lightning  on  a  dark  night.  It  reveals  a 
love  without  a  limit,  a  love  which  includes  not 
friends  and  neighbors  only  but  also  aliens  and 
enemies,  a  love  which  no  hell-fire  of  cruelty  and 
hate  could  destroy,  a  love  which  awakens  hope  in 
the  hearts  of  the  guiltiest,  for  it  warrants  them  in 
reasoning  that  if  God's  forgiveness  could  reach 
those  who  committed  the  darkest  deed  in  human 
history,  no  sinner  is  beyond  the  pale  of  mercy. 
"Father,  forgive  them"  means,  "If  them,  then  any 
and  all."  Between  this  prayer  and  the  fearful 
imprecations  contained  in  some  of  the  Hebrew 
psalms  there  stretches  a  vast  ethical  development. 
It  brings  us  into  a  totally  different  atmosphere. 

One  of  the  practical  ends  which  this  prayer  of 
Jesus  serves  is  that  it  furnishes  an  illustration,  in 
his  own  conduct,  of  what  is  perhaps  his  hardest 
lesson.    Some  have  even  gone  the  length  of  affirm- 


48  THE   PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

ing  that  when  Jesus  says,  "Pray  for  them  that 
despitefully  use  you"  (Luke  6.  28),  what  he  asks 
is  not  merely  difficult,  but  impossible.  To  love  an 
enemy,  to  wish  him  well,  to  do  him  good,  to  pray 
for  him,  that  we  may  draw  down  blessing  upon  his 
unworthy  head,  is  declared  to  be  unnatural.  So  it 
is ;  but  it  is  Christian.  It  goes  against  the  grain  of 
selfish,  unrenewed  human  nature,  but  it  is  in  har- 
mony with  the  new  Christian  nature.  To  practice 
it  is  difficult,  but  not  impossible.  Indeed,  it  is  a 
distinctive  mark  of  a  Christian ;  and  no  one  has  the 
right  to  claim  the  possession  of  the  spirit  of  Christ, 
who,  in  looking  over  the  list  of  his  enemies,  has 
not  learned  to  substitute  for  the  prayer  of  venge- 
ance, "O  Lord,  consume  them,"  the  prayer  of 
mercy,  "Father,  forgive  them." 

4.  He  Prayed  on  Behalf  of  His  Friends. 

When  Martha  and  Mary  of  Bethany  were  in 
trouble  they  sought  his  aid.  He  was  at  a  distance 
from  Bethany  when  the  report  reached  him  that 
Lazarus  the  beloved  was  sick ;  but  instead  of  hasten- 
ing to  the  afflicted  sisters  "he  abode  where  he  was 
two  days."  While  he  tarried  Lazarus  died.  When 
at  length  he  reached  the  outskirts  of  the  village 
Martha  hurried  out  to  meet  him  and  exclaimed, 
"Lord,  if  thou  hadst  been  here,  my  brother  had 
not  died.  And  even  now  I  know,  that  whatsoever 
thou  shalt  ask  of  God,  God  will  give  thee"  (John 
ir.  21).  If  before  this  time  the  faith  of  Martha 
had  suffered  a  temporary  eclipse,  in  the  presence 


IN  THE   LIFE   OF  JESUS  49 

of  the  Master  it  broke  through  every  cloud,  and  in 
her  heart  the  hope  was  born  that  her  brother  would 
be  restored  to  life. 

Coming  to  the  grave,  Jesus,  in  accordance  with 
his  custom  of  praying  before  performing  a  miracle, 
lifted  up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  and  said,  "Father,  I 
thank  thee  that  thou  hast  heard  me"  (verse  41),  as 
if  intimating  that  direct  answer  to  prayer  was  a 
thing  of  habitual  experience.  And  surely  anyone 
whom  God  has  always  heard  ought  to  have  his  faith 
conserved  by  the  experience  of  the  past,  and  be 
able  to  anticipate  God,  and  not  be  afraid  to  speak 
with  full  assurance  regarding  the  answer  to  any 
specific  prayer,  however  difficult  its  fulfillment 
might  appear  to  be. 

5.  He  Prayed  for  His  Disciples. 

He  prayed  for  them  in  every  possible  circum- 
stance in  which  they  needed  divine  help.  He  fol- 
lowed them  at  every  step  of  the  way  with  his  loving 
thoughts,  and  enveloped  them  in  his  heaven-breathed 
desires.  Yet  there  were  particular  and  supreme 
things  for  which  he  specially  prayed.  Of  these 
John  mentions  four. 

( I )  He  prayed  that  they  might  receive  the  Holy 
Spirit.  "I  will  pray  the  Father,"  he  said,  ''and  he 
shall  give  you  another  Comforter,  that  he  may  abide 
with  you  forever"  (John  14.  16).  The  gift  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  was  the  promise  of  the  new  dispensa- 
tion: by  its  bestowment  the  new  dispensation  was 
to  be  ushered  in  and  perpetuated.    For  it  the  dis- 


50  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

ciples  were  directed  to  wait  and  pray.  With  their 
prayer  that  of  Jesus  coincided.  But  when,  at  Pente- 
cost, the  prayer  in  which  the  disciples  and  the 
Master  had  joined  was  answered,  and  the  Com- 
forter had  come  never  to  depart,  all  prayer  for  it 
ceased.  For  why  should  prayer  be  continued  for 
that  which  had  come? 

The  prayer  of  Jesus  for  the  Holy  Spirit's  bestow- 
ment  thus  takes  its  place  among  the  list  of  prayers 
that  have  been  answered.  The  Comforter  has 
come;  he  is  now  at  the  side  of  every  Christian — 
present  to  advocate  his  cause,  present  to  help  him 
in  all  his  infirmities,  present  to  befriend  him  in 
every  way  that  is  in  his  power. 

And  inasmuch  as  this  prayer  has  been  answered, 
all  present  prayer  for  the  Holy  Spirit  must  needs 
take  on  a  new  form.  No  longer  is  it  a  prayer  for 
the  Spirit's  advent,  but  for  the  realization  of  his 
presence;  no  longer  is  it  a  prayer  for  his  outpour- 
ing, but  for  his  inpouring;  no  longer  is  it  a  prayer 
for  his  closer  approach,  but  for  his  complete  occu- 
pancy. Because  the  Holy  Spirit  has  been  given  he 
can  be  received;  and  the  heart's  desire  of  every 
praying  disciple  should  be  that  he  may  become  more 
receptive  to  the  fullness  of  his  saving  and  sanctify- 
ing power. 

(2)  That  they  might  be  united.  The  great  inter- 
cessory prayer  of  Jesus,  which  is  the  true  Lord's 
Prayer,  was  offered  in  the  presence  of  his  disciples, 
just  as  they  were  about  to  break  up  and  separate, 
at  the  close  of  the  Paschal  Supper.     Its  opening 


IN   THE   LIFE   OF  JESUS  51 

words  are:  ''Father,  the  hour  is  come;  glorify  thy 
Son,  that  the  Son  may  glorify  thee"  (John  17.  i). 
For  himself  it  was  the  hour  of  destiny.  His  Mes- 
sianic mission  was  reaching  its  culmination;  the 
powers  of  evil  were  leaguing  themselves  together 
against  him.  Therefore  he  prayed  that  he  might 
not  fail,  but  that  the  path  of  suffering  which  he  was 
about  to  tread  might  prove  to  be  the  path  of  glory ; 
and  that  the  glory  of  the  Father,  whose  will  he 
was  doing,  might  be  manifested  in  his  completed 
work. 

His  thoughts  quickly  turned  from  himself  to  his 
disciples,  and  he  commends  them  to  the  Father's 
care,  and  prays  that  they  may  be  brought  into 
abiding  union  with  the  Father  and  with  one  another. 
Concentrating  his  interest  upon  them,  he  says:  "I 
pray  for  them;  I  pray  not  for  the  world,  but  for 
those  whom  thou  hast  given  me"  (verse  9)  ;  liter- 
ally, "I  am  praying  for  them ;  I  am  not  praying  for 
the  world."  Present  action  is  indicated.  The  refer- 
ence is  to  "the  prayer  which  he  is  at  this  moment 
uttering,  and  not  to  his  general  practice"  (Bible 
Commentary  in  loco).  The  reason  why  he  did  not 
pray  for  the  world  at  this  particular  time,  as  he 
was  accustomed  to  do,  is  because  of  what  he  was 
asking.  The  refrain  of  his  prayer  is,  "that  they 
may  be  one"  (verse  11) ;  and  surely  the  union  of  a 
hostile  world  would  have  the  very  last  thing  he 
would  have  thought  of  praying  for.  His  thought 
runs  deeper,  and  at  the  same  time  finds  more  ex- 
plicit expression  in  the  added  words,  "even  as  we 


52  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

are  one/'  this  ideal  union  having  for  its  pattern 
not  merely  the  closest,  dearest  human  relation- 
ships, but  the  union  existing  within  the  Godhead 
itself.  A  higher  union  than  this  is  not  conceivable. 
This  vital  and  intimate  union  which  Jesus  prayed 
for  is  corporate  and  organic.  It  is  at  first,  and 
essentially,  a  thing  of  spiritual  rather  than  of  ex- 
ternal relationship.  That  it  will  express  itself,  and 
become  visible  to  the  eye  of  men,  is  inevitable.  The 
necessity  for  its  visible  expression  is  declared  to 
be,  "that  the  world  may  believe  that  thou  didst 
send  me"  (verse  21).  The  witness  of  a  united 
church  is  needed  to  convince  the  world  that  Christ 
has  come  as  the  messenger  of  the  one  living  and 
true  God.  A  divided  church  cannot  evoke  faith  in 
a  universal  Christ.  In  a  body  in  which  there  is 
schism  Christ  cannot  find  full  and  perfect  expres- 
sion. Because  of  her  unseemly  divisions  the  church 
of  to-day  is  shorn  of  her  witnessing  power  and 
Christ  of  the  honor  of  a  wider  homage.  Even  if  it 
be  admitted  that  some  of  the  past  divisions  may 
have  served  good  ends  in  giving  emphasis  to  neg- 
lected truths,  the  reason  for  their  continuance  has 
long  been  outgrown,  the  distinctive  truths  for  which 
they  stood  having  become  the  common  heritage  of 
the  church.  Nothing  can  be  more  evident  than 
that  in  the  present  day  the  movement  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  is  toward  union.  When  Christians  of 
different  names  and  creeds  meet  together  a  mighty 
ground-swell  of  enlarging  life  lifts  them  up  and 
carries  them  outward,  they  know  not  whither.   The 


IN  THE   LIFE  OF  JESUS  53 

Laymen's  Missionary  Movement,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  great  Missionary  Conference  at  Edin- 
burgh, and  that  in  turn  by  the  Men  and  Religion 
Movement,  are  tokens  of  still  greater  things  to 
come,  and  awaken  the  hope  that  the  unity  of  which 
God's  people  have  dreamed,  but  which  they  hardly 
dared  to  believe  could  come  before  many  genera- 
tions had  run  their  weary  course,  may  find  a  speedy 
realization.  It  is  frankly  admitted  that  the  present 
divisions  of  the  church  cannot  possibly  be  final; 
that  they  present  a  barrier  to  the  progress  of  the 
kingdom,  and  that  they  must  ultimately  pass  away, 
in  order  that  the  Saviour's  prayer  may  be  fulfilled. 

Agreement  in  prayer  for  what  the  Lord  has  com- 
manded his  people  to  pray  is  in  itself  the  beginning 
point  of  union.  If  it  means  anything,  it  means 
that  personal  desires  are  being  subordinated  to  the 
interest  of  Christ's  kingdom,  and  that  he  is  begin- 
ning to  have  his  way. 

Prayer  is  prophetic.  It  sees  what  is  coming.  It 
occupies  the  mount  of  vision  and  looks  along  the 
line  of  God's  unfolding  purposes.  If  we  are  war- 
ranted in  changing  every  promise  into  prayer,  we 
are  equally  warranted  in  changing  every  prayer 
into  a  promise.  In  an  emphatic  sense  Christ's 
prayer  for  union  carries  a  promise  for  union  in  its 
bosom.  It  contains  a  prophecy  which  cannot  fail 
of  that  consummation  symbolized  in  Dante's  vision, 
when  the  saints  throughout  all  the  world,  and  all?  J  \ 
the  ages,  shall  resemble  the  petals  of  a  mighty  rose,  1 K^  \ 
of  which  God  himself  is  the  glowing  center.  ^    j 


54  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

(3)  That  they  might  he  sanctified.  In  his  high- 
priestly  prayer  of  consecration,  Jesus,  after  pray- 
ing that  his  people  might  be  united,  prays  that  they 
might  be  sanctified ;  that  is,  that  they  might  be  sepa- 
rated from  the  world,  and  set  apart  to  the  work  of 
the  Kingdom. 

While  in  the  world  they  are  not  to  be  of  it;  but 
are  to  find  in  its  ordinary  affairs  a  sphere  of  divine 
service.  He  does  not  pray  for  their  escape  from 
life's  burdens  and  temptations,  but  for  strength  to 
be  given  them  to  bear  and  to  overcome  them.  He 
says,  "I  pray  not  that  thou  shouldest  take  them 
from  the  world,  but  that  thou  shouldest  keep  them 
from  the  evil  one,"  or,  more  generally,  "from  evil" 
(verse  15).  He  asks  that  they  may  be  kept  in  the 
world  till  their  work  is  done,  and  that  while  in  the 
world  they  may  not  only  be  kept  from  the  evil 
which  environs  them,  and  which  stains  the  char- 
acter and  pollutes  the  springs  of  the  inner  life,  but 
that  they  also  ''may  be  sanctified  in  truth"  (verse 
19),  and  thus  be  made  meet  for  God's  use,  that  they 
may  serve  some  definite  end  in  the  furtherance  of 
the  Kingdom. 

In  all  that  Jesus  asks  for  his  disciples  he  identi- 
fies himself  with  them,  entering  with  them  into 
the  act  of  self-dedication,  and  saying,  "For  their 
sakes  I  sanctify  myself,  that  they  themselves  also 
may  be  truly  sanctified"  (verse  19).  He  conse- 
crates himself  to  them,  that  they  may  consecrate 
themselves  to  others  in  his  name.  He  offers  him- 
self up  sacrificially,  that,  inspired  by  his  holy,  self- 


IN   THE   LIFE   OF   JESUS  55 

denying  love,  they  may  lay  themselves  upon  the 
altar  to  be  consumed  as  living  sacrifices  in  the 
service  of  humanity.  In  vain  does  the  Great  Inter- 
cessor pray  for  his  people  unless  this  end  be  gained 
and  they  are  moved  by  his  sacrificial  love  to  put 
themselves  at  God's  disposal  on  behalf  of  others, 
and  to  labor  unitedly  for  the  establishment  upon 
the  earth  of  his  kingdom  of  righteousness  and  love. 
(4)  That  they  might  share  his  glory.  The  climax 
of  his  farewell  prayer  is  contained  in  the  words, 
''Father,  I  desire  that  they  also  whom  thou  hast 
given  me  be  with  me  where  I  am,  that  they  may 
behold  my  glory,  which  thou  hast  given  me:  for 
thou  lovedst  me  before  the  foundations  of  the 
world"  (verse  24).  He  had  already  said,  "The 
glory  which  thou  hast  given  me,  I  have  given  unto 
them"  (verse  22),  given  not  in  promise  and  antici- 
pation only,  but  in  its  earnest  and  first  fruits;  and 
now  he  wills  and  prays  that  they  might  partake 
of  that  glory  in  all  its  heavenly  fullness.  What  is 
the  glory  which  they  are  to  see  and  share,  if  not  the 
glory  of  his  completed  work  of  redemption,  the 
glory  which  a  united,  holy,  and  consecrated  church 
will  have  something  to  do  in  bringing  about?  And 
what  greater  boon  could  the  Master  ask  for  his 
disciples  at  a  time  when  they  are  about  to  enter  the 
valley  of  humiliation,  and  face  seeming  defeat,  than 
that  they  should  be  partakers  of  the  glory  which  he 
had  when  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  and  which 
as  the  triumphant  Redeemer  he  has  now  resumed 
in  a  still  more  resplendent  form? 


PART  SECOND 

THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER  IN  THE 
TEACHING  OF  JESUS 


57 


CHAPTER   I 
THE  MODEL  PRAYER 

This  is  the  first  Christian  prayer.  It  was  pre- 
scribed by  Jesus  to  hi^s  disciples  at  the  beginning  of 
his  pubHc  ministry,  and  constitutes  a  bridge  con- 
necting the  old  dispensation  and  the  new.  Its  form 
is  Jewish — the  claim  being  made  that  it  might  be 
entirely  reconstructed  from  words  taken  from  the 
Jewish  sacred  writings.  But  if  its  form  is  Jewish, 
its  spirit  is  Christian.  True,  we  miss  in  it  certain 
elements  which  could  only  have  come  later,  when 
the  work  of  Christ  was  accomplished  and  the  new 
age  of  the  Spirit  was  brought  in ;  but,  looked  at  in 
its  place  in  the  development  of  Christian  truth,  it 
is  of  priceless  value  as  forming  the  first  introduc- 
tion into  the  temple  of  Christian  worship. 

On  this  wise  this  prayer  was  given;  'Tt  came  to 
pass,  that,  as  he  was  praying  in  a  certain  place, 
when  he  ceased,  one  of  his  disciples  said  unto  him. 
Lord,  teach  us  to  pray,  as  John  also  taught  his 
disciples"  (Luke  ii.  i).  John  had  evidently  taught 
his  disciples  some  form  of  prayer,  and  the  dis- 
ciples of  Jesus  asked  him  to  do  the  same.  Hitherto 
he  had  given  no  definite  instruction  regarding 
prayer.  He  had  taught  by  example.  He  had  been 
content  to  create  a  prayer-spirit,  leaving  it  free  to 
express  itself  in  whatever  form  might  be  deemed 

59 


6o  THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

suitable.  He  laid  little  stress  upon  outward  forms, 
knowing  full  well  the  tendency  for  form  to  de- 
generate into  formality.  But  the  time  had  come 
when  to  the  contagion  of  his  example  it  was  neces- 
sary that  he  add  specific  instruction  and  direction 
on  the  subject  of  prayer,  in  order  that  his  disciples 
might  be  able  to  share  with  him  more  fully  in  what 
was  deepest  in  his  own  religious  experience.  Their 
request,    voiced    by    an    unnamed    disciple,    was, 

f  "Master,  teach  us  thy  secret,  that  we  may  pray  as 
thou  prayest."  It  is  not  to  be  inferred  that  they  did 
not  pray  up  to  this  time ;  what  they  desired  was 
that  they  might  be  taught  to  pray  right;  or,  more 
explicitly,  taught  to  pray  in  Christ's  way.  It  was 
in  response  to  this  request  that  Jesus  gave  utterance 
to  that  simple,  direct,  and  comprehensive  prayer, 
which  has  become  the  model  of  all  true  prayer, 
and  which  is  known  as  The  Lord's  Prayer. 

Matthew's  version  of  "the  prayer  which  teaches 
to  pray"  is  the  one  commonly  used.  It  reads  thus : 
"Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven.  Hallowed  be  thy 
/  name.  Thy  kingdom  come.  Thy  will  be  done,  as 
/  in  heaven,  so  on  earth.  Give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread.  And  forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  also  have 
forgiven  our  debtors.  And  bring  us  not  into  temp- 
tation, but  deliver  us  from  the  evil  one"  (6.  9-13). 

This  prayer  of  prayers  sweeps  the  entire  circle 
of  human  needs.  It  teaches  the  art  of  prayer  and^ 
indicates  its  scope.  It  was  not  designed  to  exhaust 
the  subject  of  prayer,  but  merely  to  be  suggestive, 
and  set  the  thought  of  the  world  in  the  right  direc- 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS         6i 

tion.  Its  simple  words  contain  within  them  the 
germs  of  an  endless  development.  It  was  never 
meant  to  be  formally  repeated,  or  slavishly  imitated, 
but  simply  to  supply,  in  matter  and  manner,  an 
example  of  true  and  acceptable  prayer.  Moreover, 
its  contextual  setting  clearly  shows  that  it  was  pri-  . 
marily  meant  to  assist  in  the  practice  of  private ^[\ 
prayer. 

Taking  this  prayer  as  Christ's  first  lesson  on  the 
subject  of  prayer  and  looking  at  it  broadly,  we 
find  that— 

1.  It  Strikes  the  Note  of  Universality. 

Although  limited  in  its  original  application  to 
Christ's  disciples,  it  is  a  prayer  in  which  all  devout 
souls  of  every  creed  can  join.  Hence  one  of  the 
titles  suggested  for  it  is,  "The  Universal  Prayer." 
At  the  World's  Parliament  of  Religion  in  Chicago 
the  representatives  of  the  leading  faiths  of  the  world 
repeated  it  in  unison,  at  the  opening  of  every  ses- 
sion. Voicing,  as  it  does,  the  world-wide  and 
essential  wants  of  the  common  heart  of  man,  by  it 

The  whole  round  world  is  every  way 
Bound  by  gold  chains  about  the  feet  of  God. 

2.  It  is  an  Organic  Whole. 

It  is  not  a  series  of  detached  and  unrelated  utter- 
ances.   "In  its  seven  petitions,"  says  De  Wette,  "it 
^  expresses  the  whole  course  of  human  experience; 
in  the  first  three  the  unhindered  flight  of  the  Spirit 
of  God;  in  the  next  three,  the  hindrances  opposed 


62  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

to  this  experience  in  earthly  circumstances,  and  by 
the  conflict  with  sin ;  while  the  last  petition  expresses 
the  solution  which  harmonizes  the  conflict."  If 
the  number  of  separate  petitions  be  reduced  to  six — 
which  is  evidently  the  right  division — the  unity  of 
the  whole  is  no  less  apparent.  All  the  petitions 
/  blend  together  like  the  hues  of  the  rainbow,  and 
harmonize  the  out-breathed  desires  of  man's 
eternal  soul  with  the  eternal  order,  and  with  the 
eternal  God. 

3.  //  Expresses  a  New  Conception  of  God. 

Out  of  this  conception  a  new  Hfe  of  prayer  was 
to  spring.  In  answering  the  request  of  his  dis- 
ciples, ''Lord,  teach  us  to  pray,"  the  first  thing  that 
Jesus  did  was  to  give  them  a  right  conception  of  the 
One  to  whom  they  were  to  pray.  He  turned  their 
\  .thoughts  from  the  act  of  praying  to  the  object  of 
>s.  \  /prayer.  He  said  to  them,  "When  ye  pray,  say, 
^^  OuxJEsther"— not  ''Our  Creator,"  or  "Our  King," 
but,  "Our  Father" — our  own  Father,  and  the  Father 
of  ail.  Jesus  himself  always  addressed  God  as 
Father.  He  lived  in  filial  relationship  with  him, 
and  exercised  toward  him  filial  trust.  In  this  ex- 
perience he  sought  to  have  all  men  share.  He 
taught  them  that  his  Father  was  their  Father,  and 
that  their  true  life  as  sons  of  God  could  be  reaHzed 
only  in  the  knowledge  and  recognition  of  his  fatherly 
interest  and  love.  This  is  the  basic  truth  upon 
which  all  his  teaching  rests. 

The  idea  of  God  as  a  Father,  wise  and  loving 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS         63 

and  tender — a  Father  holding  personal  relations 
with  every  man — was  something  entirely  new.  The 
Jewish  people,  among  whom  the  highest  water 
mark  of  religious  thought  had  been  reached,  con- 
ceived of  God  as  a  Father  in  a  national  sense,  as  in 
the  words  of  Jehovah  to  Pharaoh,  "Israel  is  my  son, 
my  first-bom"  (Exod.  4.  22) ,  but  never  once  did 
they  rise  to  the  conception  of  God  as  a  Father  in  a 
personal,  vital,  and  afifectional  sense.  It  was  left 
to  Jesus  to  give  the  world  this  higher  view  of  divine 
Fatherhood,  and  to  teach  the  children  of  men  that 
they  are  to  begin  to  pray  by  recognizing  their 
filial  relationship  to  God.  He  teaches  that  the 
highest  prayer  is  not  the  address  of  the  creature 
to  the  Creator,  nor  the  appeal  of  the  subject  to  the 
King,  but  the  cry  of  the  child  to  the  Father,  and 
that  the  essential  thing  in  true  prayer  is  not  creature 
dependence  but  filial  dependence,  not  creature  con- 
fidence but  filial  confidence. 

The  first  thing,  then,  to  consider  in  reference  to 
prayer  is  not,  Am  I  praying  in  the  right  way?  but 
Am  I  praying  to  the  right  person?  Is  my  thought 
directed  to  the  Father  ?  Have  I  taken  my  place  of 
privilege  in  God's  house  as  a  child?  Is  my  inter- 
course with  the  Great  God,  whose  presence  fills  the 
universe,  the  intercourse  of  a  child  with  his  father  ? 
Alas!  there  are  many  who  resemble  the  priest  of 
whom  Fogazzaro  says,  in  his  posthumous  novel 
Leila:  "Divine  paternity  was  to  him  rather  a  for- 
mula in  which  he  believed  than  a  truth  which  he  felt, 
and  which  was  precious  to  him.     With  his  lips  he 


64  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

called  him  Father,  while  in  his  heart  he  felt  him  to 
be  a  monarch."  No  one  really  occupies  the  Chris- 
tian ground  who  does  not  plant  his  feet  unfalter- 
ingly upon  the  reality  and  centrality  of  the  divine 
Fatherhood. 

This  new  conception  of  God  which  Jesus  has 
furnished  not  only  gives  a  new  significance  to 
prayer,  it  is  creative  of  prayer  itself.  It  generates 
the  spirit  of  prayer ;  it  awakens  the  desire  to  pray ; 
it  provides  a  new  incentive  to  pray;  it  affords  a 
new  ground  for  confidence  in  prayer ;  it  determines 
the  very  nature  of  man's  approach  to  God  and  of 
his  intercourse  with  him,  for  what  is  more  natural 
than  that  a  child  should  go  to  his  father  in  his 
trouble  and  need?  A  true  father  will  delight  to 
give;  he  will  give  without  a  grudge;  and,  if  he  is 
wise  as  well  as  kind,  he  will  give  only  what  is  for 
his  children's  good.  In  the  hands  of  such  a  father 
^  the  praying  soul  can  confidently  rest  his  case. 

As  our  Father  God  yearns  for  our  fellowship. 
He  wants  us  to  speak  to  him.  If  we  have  wandered 
far  from  him,  he  welcomes  us  back.  He  does  not 
become  our  Father  when  we  return  to  him;  we 
return  to  him  because  he  is  our  Father.  In  reveal- 
ing himself  as  Father  he  acknowledges  his  responsi- 
bility to  us  as  his  children  and  our  interest  in  all 
that  he  possesses.  When  out  of  our  hearts  comes 
the  cry  of  need  his  response  ever  is,  "Son,  all  that 
I  have  is  thine." 
.  To  strengthen  the  assurance  that  the  Father  to 
whom  we  pray  is  able  to  meet  every  demand,  Jesus 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS         65 

represents  him  as  in  heaven,  and  hence  possessed 
of  heavenly  power.  Heaven  is  his  dwelHng  place. 
When  we  pray  to  him  we  look  heavenward.  Heaven 
is  above,  not  in  a  geographical  but  in  a  spiritual 
sense.  From  the  upper  sphere  God  looketh  down; 
he  bends  a  listening  ear  to  the  cry  of  his  children 
and  meets  their  heavenward  gaze  with  the  vision 
of  his  presence.  When  they  call  he  "answers  out 
of  his  holy  heaven,  with  the  saving  strength  of  his 
right  hand,"  bringing  the  riches  of  the  heavenly 
realm  into  the  possession  of  their  uplifted  hearts. 

4.  It  Places  God's  Glory  Before  Our  Personal 
Good. 

How  natural  it  is  to  think  of  ourselves  first^  and 
to  ask  first  of  all  for  the  supply  of  our  personal 
wants !  But  the  Master  teaches  us  to  keep  these  in 
abeyance,  to  put  God  first  in  our  thoughts,  and  to 
seek  first  in  our  prayer  his  kingdom  and  his 
righteousness.  Hence  the .fixst  three  petitions  have 
reference  to  God's  honor,  and  the  advancement  of 
his  kingdom,  which  are  the  things  which  the  objects 
of  absorbing  interest  among  the  inhabitants  of 
heaven,  in  this  regard  contrasting  with  the  other 
three  petitions,  which  are  earth-prayers,  and  which 
have  exclusive  reference  to  earthly  conditions  and 
needs. 

(i)  The  first  thing  prayed  for  is  the  hallowing 
of  the  Father's  name.  "Our  Father  who  art  in 
heaven.  Hallowed  be  thy  name";  that  is,  "May 
thy  name  as  Father,  thy  name  as  the  archetypal 


66  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

Father,  whose  throne  is  heaven,  and  whose  foot- 
stool is  the  earth,  be  known  and  revered  through 
all  the  world;  may  it  be  hallowed  in  the  hearts  of 
all  men,  and  on  all  the  lips  of  all  men."  The  name 
of  God  stands  for  his  character,  for  his  essential 
being ;  it  denotes  what  he  is,  so  that  when  his  name 
is  hallowed  he  himself  is  exalted  and  glorified  by 
every  praying  soul,  and  by  all  who  have  his  fear 
in  their  hearts. 

(2)  Desire  expressed  for  the  coming  of  the 
Kingdom.  "Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  thy 
kingdom  come."  Here  Fatherhood  and  Kinghood 
are  conjoined.  The  kingdom  for  whose  coming  we 
are  to  pray  is  the  kingdom  of  the  Father.  Our 
prayer  is  to  be,  "May  the  kingdom  of  righteousness 
and  love  over  which  the  heavenly  Father  reigns, 
continue  to  increase  until  it  is  acknowledged  by  all." 

The  desire  for  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom  is 
the  central  thing  in  prayer.  It  underlies  all  other 
desires.  It  destroys  self-seeking,  lifts  us  above  our 
petty  interests,  and  leads  us  to  find  outside  of  our- 
selves the  final  end  of  our  spiritual  quest.  Our 
prayers  are  often  poor  and  paltry  by  reason  of  the 
narrowness  of  our  outlook,  and  the  smallness  of  our 
interests ;  but  prayer  for  the  Kingdom,  when  offered 
understandingly,  brings  us  into  a  larger  place.  It 
absorbs  our  thought  in  God,  and  puts  his  honor 
uppermost.  It  makes  us  desire  that  his  cause  may 
succeed  even  if  our  personal  ends  should  fail,  that 
his  name  be  enthroned  if  our  worldly  power  and 
glory  should  be  trampled  in  the  dust. 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS         6^ 

The  kingdom  sought  is  God's,  because  it  comes 
from  him.  It  comes  by  the  working  of  his  power. 
It  is  first  of  all  a  reign,  then  a  realm;  first  a  divine 
ideal  implanted  in  the  heart,  afterwards  a  divine 
ideal  realized  in  human  life  and  society.  In  its  com- 
pleted form  as  a  new  social  order,  which  has  no 
territorial  limits,  but  which  runs  through  all  other 
kingdoms,  it  is  the  goal  of  history  and  the  consum- 
mation of  the  purpose  of  redemption.  The  fact  that 
we  are  enjoined  to  pray  for  the  coming  of  the 
Father's  kingdom  is  a  guarantee  that  it  is  coming. 
And  if  our  prayer  is  sincere,  we  virtually  pledge 
ourselves  to  answer  it  as  far  as  possible  by  doing 
everything  in  our  power  to  bring  it  to  pass. 

(3)  The  wish  is  expressed  that  God's  will  may 
be  everywhere  done.  *'Thy  will  be  done,  as  in 
heaven,  so  on  earth."  To  bring  heaven  into  closer 
relationship  with  earth,  to  restore  earth  to  its  lost 
yoneness  with  heaven,  to  get  men  everywhere  to  bow 
their  necks  in  loving  submission  to  the  will  of  the 
heavenly  Father,  was  the  religious  aim  of  Jesus. 
And  here  he  directs  us  to  pray  that  this  might  be 
accomplished.  The  prayer  which  he  puts  into  our 
lips  is,  in  substance,  this:  "May  a  heavenly  spirit 
come  into  the  earthly  life,  that  the  practice  of  the 
heavenly  life  may  now  begin ;  may  the  will  of  God, 
which  is  the  standard  of  moral  action  in  all  worlds, 
be  done  here  below  as  it  is  done  in  heaven  above  by 
the  holy  angels,  and  by  "the  spirits  of  just  men 
made  perfect."  That  this  may  be  realized  a  revela- 
tion of  the  heavenly  life  was  needed. -/This  has 


68  THE  PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

been  given  ^j/^J^^us,  and  in  Jesus ;  who,  by  always 
doing  the  will  of  the  Father,  gave  a  transcript  of 
that  life  of  perfect  obedience  to  the  Father's  will 
which  characterizes  the  inhabitants  of  heaven.  In 
his  life  as  a  man  he  showed  to  men  the  way  in 
which  the  heavenly  life  is  to  be  lived  on  earth. 

This  petition  reaches  the  highest- water  mark  of 
prayer.  To  secure  the  end  which  it  seeks,  to  bring 
the  mutinous  spirit  of  man  into  complete  submis- 
sion to  the  divine  will,  to  get  heavenly  laws  obeyed 
on  earth,  to  get  heavenly  ways  adopted  on  earth,  is 
to  realize  the  glory  of  God  here  below  and  to  make 
of  earth  a  suburb  of  heaven. 

5.  It  Sets  Forth  the  Supremacy  of  the  Spiritual 
in  Prayer. 

There  are  five  petitions  for  spiritual  blessings, 
and  only  one  for  temporal  blessings.  Most  prayers 
reverse  this  proportion. 

( I )  The  prayer  for  temporal  blessings  is  a  prayer 
for  necessary  things — not  a  prayer  for  superfluities, 
but  for  ''things  needful  for  the  body."  Having 
sought  God's  glory  in  prayer,  we  are  free  to  con- 
sider our  personal  needs.  In  taking  up  our  per- 
sonal needs  we  begin  with  the  lowest.  We  ask.i^_ 
bread.  We  say,  ''Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread." 
Bread  here  stands  for  whatever  we  may  need  for 
our  sustenance.  It  stands  for  temporal  blessings 
in  general.  The  Greek  word  epiousion,  which  in 
the  Authorized  and  Revised  Versions  is  rendered 
"daily,"  has  introduced  great  difficulty.     It  is  a 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS         69 

word  which  occurs  nowhere  else  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, or  in  Greek  literature.  A  variety  of  meanings 
have  been  attached  to  it.  There  are  two  marginal 
readings,  the  first  being,  "Give  us  our  bread  for  the 
coming  day,"  and  the  other,  *'Give  us  this  day  our 
needful -bread."  The  latter  rendering  is  undoubt- 
edly the  correct  one.  Wendt  renders  it  "apper- 
taining bread,"  that  is,  the  bread  appertaining  to 
our  need.  Some  regard  it  as  referring  to  spiritual 
bread — "the  true  bread  which  came  down  from 
heaven,"  the  bread  of  our  deepest  need.  The  ren- 
dering of  the  Vulgate  is  panis  superstantialis,  that 
is,  the  bread  which  is  over  and  above  material 
substance.  But  even  if  this  be  included,  and  the 
word  be  taken  to  cover  all  that  pertains  to  the 
nourishment  of  the  higher  and  lower  life  of  man, 
the  primary  reference  is,  without  doubt,  to  temporal 
bread. 

This  simple  prayer  for  the  means  of  sustenance 
we  are  to  offer  in  childlike  trust,  leaving  it  to  the 
All-Father  to  give  us  what  is  necessary  for  to-day 
and  to-morrow,  and  to  give  In  the  way  he  deems 
best.  He  may  feed  us  by  ravens,  or  he  may  give  us 
strength  to  work  for  our  bread;  but  in  either  case 
the  supply  is  sure,  and  whatever  be  the  way  in 
which  it  comes,  it  is  the  gift  of  his  mercy.  The 
period  of  time  for  which  we  are  to  ask  him  to  make 
provision  is  significant.  "It  is  an  arrangement  de- 
signed to  bring  man  to  his  F,ather  each  day"  (E.  J. 
Bos  worth). 

(2)   The  prayer  for  spiritual  blessings  is  a  prayer 


70  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

for  essential  things.  It  goes  to  the  core  of  man's 
spiritual  problem,  voicing  his  need  at  the  deepest 
point. 

(o)  It  is  J  in  the  first  place,  a  plea  for  forgiveness, 
"Forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  also  have  forgiven 
our  debtors/*  The  first  cry  of  the  soul  is  a  cry  for 
mercy.  There  is  in  the  breast  of  every  man  a 
consciousness  of  sin,  a  consciousness  that  things 
have  been  done  which  ought  not  to  have  been  done. 
There  is  also  a  sense  of  undischarged  obligations. 
If  duty  is  what  is  due,  and  if  a  man  ought  to  do 
what  he  owed  to  do,  then  to  fail  in  giving  others 
what  we  owe  them  is  to  fail  in  doing  what  we  ought 
to  do  for  them.  For  the  word  "debts,"  the  other 
evangelists  substitute  the  words  "trespasses"  and 
"sins."  To  pray  for  forgiveness  is  to  pray  that 
sins  of  every  kind — sins  of  omission  and  of  com- 
mission alike  be  blotted  out. 

The  customary  expression,  "as  we  forgive,"  ought 
to  read,  "as  we  also  have  forgiven."  It  presup- 
poses that  those  who  pray  for  forgiveness  have 
already  in  their  hearts  forgiven  others.  If  they 
have  not,  their  prayer  for  forgiveness  is  vain,  and 
the  only  bridge  by  which  they  themselves  can  return 
to  God  has  been  broken  down. 

(&)  Having  prayed  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins, 
we  are  to  pray  for  deliverance  from  sin.  "And 
bring  us  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from 
the  evil  one."  The  former  prayer  is  the  cry  of 
guilt;  this  is  the  cry  of  weakness.  It  is  the  cry  of 
a  soul  shrinking  from  suffering;  the  cry  of  a  soul 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS         71 

that  dreads  the  winnowing  process  of  tribulation; 
the  cry  of  a  soul  that  fears  lest  the  fiery  trials  that 
confront  him  should  prove  too  much  for  his 
strength.  Complete  exemption  from  trial  is  not 
sought,  but  merely  escape  from  trials  that  might 
be  greater  than  one  was  able  to  bear. 

But  when  the  trial  has  to  be  met,  when  faith  has 
to  be  severely  tested,  our  prayer  must  be,  "Deliver 
us  from  evil."  Emancipate  us  from  evil,  in  what- 
ever form  it  may  come;  break  its  power,  that  our 
souls  may  escape  from  its  cruel  grasp,  "like  a  bird 
from  the  snare  of  the  fowler." 

6.    It  Emphasizes  the  Social  Element  in  Prayer, 

It  is  not  an  individualistic  but  a  social  prayer,  and 
as  such  appeals  profoundly  to  the  newly  awakened 
social  consciousness  of  to-day. 

Frederick  Harrison  maintains  that  all  prayer  is 
a  form  of  selfishness.  It  is  not  so.  True  prayer 
cleanses  the  heart  from  the  veriest  taint  of  selfish 
desire.  It  leads  us  to  think  of  others;  it  forbids 
us  to  seek  our  own  interests  as  against  the  interests 
of  others.  ''Meum  and  tuum/'  says  Luther,  "are 
not  Christian  words."  When  we  pray  Christianly 
we  not  only  remember  our  fellow  suppliants  but  we 
seek  to  voice  the  unspoken  desire  of  all  those  who 
do  not  pray  for  themselves.  Hence,  as  Chrysostom 
has  said,  we  are  taught  "to  make  our  prayer  com- 
mon, on  behalf  of  our  brethren  ajso.  For  he  saith, 
not,  'My  Father  which  art  in  heaven,'  but,  'Our 
Father,'  offering  up  his  supplication  for  the  body 


72  THE  PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

in  common,  and  nowhere  looking  to  his_pwn,  but 
everywhere  to  his  neighbor's  good.'* 

"The  sky  is  the  roof  of  but  one  family."  Men 
are  related  to  one  another  because  related  to  the 
one  Father.  Sons  of  God  are  brothers  one  of  an- 
other. There  is  no  true  brotherhood  of  man  that 
is  not  founded  upon  the  Fatherhood  of  God. 

If  God  is  the  universal  Father,  men  are  bound 
together  in  fraternal  bonds.  They  are  members  of 
a  common  household,  which  has  common  wants, 
common  interests,  and  common  ends.  They  ought, 
therefore,  to  live  as  brethren,  each  one  seeking  the 
family  welfare  as  he  seeks  his  own. 

That  brotherhood  may  be  actualized  Jesus  has 
taught  us  to  pray  this  prayer.  We  are  not  to  go 
into  the  throne-room  alone,  but  are  to  kneel  by 
the  side  of  every  praying  soul,  letting  the  little 
rill  of  our  prayer  flow  into  the  mighty  stream  of 
petition  which  is  ascending  to  the  eternal  throne; 
we  are  to  make  common  cause  with  all  our  breth- 
ren, making  their  varied  needs  the  burden  of  our 
prayer;  nor  are  we  to  pray  merely  for  special 
advantages  and  favors  for  those  within  the  circle 
of  our  personal  friendship,  but  are  to  pray  for  all 
ahke.  When  a  Christian  asks  God  to  supply  his 
own  needs  he  is  to  ask  him  to  supply  the  needs  of 
all  his  brethren  also.  He  is  to  pray,  ''Our  Father 
who  art  in  heaven,  give  us  our  needful  bread." 
The  whole  human  family,  of  which  he  is  part,  is  to 
be  embraced  in  his  benevolent  desire.  So  in  his 
prayer  for  spiritual  blessings  he  is  to  ask,  "Forgive 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS         73 

us  our  debts."  As  we  are  all  involved  in  a  common 
guilt,  may  we  be  objects  of  a  common  mercy! 
"Bring  us  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from 
the  evil  one/'  Let  not  the  sifting  process  be  too 
severe  with  any  one  of  us ;  temper  the  wind  to  the 
shorn  lamb;  and  when  the  hour  of  conflict  comes, 
deliver  our  fluttered,  defenseless  souls  from  the 
power  of  the  enemy. 

Thus,  far  from  being  self-centered  and  selfish, 
this  model  prayer  awakens  world-wide  sympathies, 
and  binds  men  together  as  members  of  God's  great 
human  family.  Instead  of  isolating  it  unites;  in- 
stead of  wrapping  men  up  in  themselves  it  draws 
them  out  of  themselves  to  seek  for  others  what 
the  Father  of  all  is  seeking.  It  can  be  truly  offered 
only  by  those  who  have  been  taught  of  Christ,  and 
have  imbibed  his  spirit.  "Every  Christian,"  says 
Luther,  "offers  an  everlasting  Lord's  prayer."  And 
since  to  his  praying  his  life  will  be  keyed,  the  pray- 
ing of  the  model  prayer  will  leadjto  the  living  of 
the  model  life.  ^'      ' 


CHAPTER   II 
THE  SPIRIT  IN  WHICH  WE  ARE  TO   PRAY 

As  Jesus  in  his  ethical  teaching  puts  the  emphasis 
upon  the  principle  or  spirit  of  moral  action  rather 
than  upon  the  overt  act,  so  in  prayer  he  puts  the 
emphasis  upon  the  inner  spirit  rather  than  upon  the 
outward  form.  He  shows  that  the  spirit,  and  not 
outward  form,  is  the  essential  thing ;  that  the  form  is 
only  the  shell  which  preserves  the  life  within.  One 
lesson — namely,  that  supplied  by  the  model  prayer 
— was  sufficient  to  deal  with  the  matter  and  manner 
of  prayer;  in  his  subsequent  teaching  he  deals  al- 
most exclusively  with  the  spirit  of  prayer.  His 
instruction  on  this  point  is  very  searching.  It 
brings  to  light  the  hidden  things  of  the  heart,  and 
shows  what  is  to  be  avoided,  as  well  as  what  is  to 
be  done. 

I.  He  Teaches  That  We  Are  to  Pray  with 
Sincerity. 

"When  ye  pray,  ye  shall  not  be  as  the  hypocrites : 
for  they  love  to  stand  and  pray  in  the  synagogues, 
and  in  the  corners  of  the  streets,  that  they  may  be 
seen  of  men.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  They  have 
received  their  reward"  (Matt.  6.  5).  These  reli- 
gious play-actors,  whose  example  Jesus  tells  us  to 

74 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS         75 

shun,  sought  to  attract  the  attention  of  others  while 
performing  their  devotions.  As  they  stood  up  in 
the  synagogue  or  at  the  street  corners  they  kept 
glancing  around  from  under  the  tallith,  or  prayer- 
cloth,  that  covered  their  heads.  Instead  of  thinking 
of  God  alone,  and  speaking  to  him  alone,  they 
thought  only  of  man,  and  addressed  a  human  audi- 
ence. Their  devotion  was  a  pitiful  masquerade. 
They  were  not  what  they  seemed  to  be.  They  had 
no  sense  of  God's  presence,  no  conscious  outgoing 
of  the  heart  toward  him.  In  the  place  of  self- 
effacement  there  was  parade  and  ostentation;  in 
the  place  of  simplicity  there  was  duplicity;  in  the 
place  of  childlikeness  of  spirit  there  was  pride. 
Their  praying  was  something  which  they  expected 
to  have  laid  to  their  credit.  Looking  to  man's 
applause  as  their  reward,  they  missed  the  reward 
of  heaven.  Their  praying  was'~everything  that  it 
ought  not  to  have  been.  Hence  the  warning,  "Be 
ye  not  like  unto  them." 

2.   With  Thoughtfulness,    ^ 

"In  praying  use  not  vain  repetitions  as  the  Gen- 
tiles do:  for  they  think  that  they  shall  be  heard 
for  their  much  speaking"  (Matt.  6.  7).  Wendt 
renders  these  words,  "When  ye  pray,  do  not  babble 
as  the  heathen  do."  Luther's  word  is  "blatter."  It 
is  not  repetition  that  is  here  condemned,  but  empty, 
meaningless  repetition,  like  that  of  the  worshipers 
of  Baal,  who  called  upon  his  name  from  morning 
even  until  noon,  saying,  "O  Baal,  hear  us."   Earnest 


^6  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

'^  prayer  is  apt  to  be  repetitious.  A  child  keeps  ask- 
ing his  mother  for  something  in  the  same  words; 
he  keeps  pushing  his  single  request,  until  she  de- 
cisively refuses  or  surrenders.  We  are  to  urge  our 
plea  in  prayer  in  the  same  way.  Jesus  in  the 
Garden  prayed,  "saying  again  the  same  words" 
(Matt.  26.  44).  His  prayer  was  repetitious,  but  not 
vainly  so.  It  expressed  the  white-heat  of  intense 
desire. 

There  is  much  aimless  prayer;  prayer  without 
premeditation;  prayer  that  is  from  the  teeth  out- 
ward; prayer  that  consists  in  "eloquent  and  unc- 
tious  phrases,"  which  signify  nothing  to  the  one 
who  utters  them.  These  prayers  do  not  bear  the 
hall-mark  of  reality.  They  are  words  and  nothing 
more.    Augustine  makes  a  distinction  between  much 

y  speaking  and  much  praying.  He  says,  "We  may 
pray  most  when  we  say  least,  and  we  may  pray 
least  when  we  say  most."  The  Gentiles  thought 
they  would  be  heard  for  the  multiplication  of  words 

-/rather  than  for  the  multiplication  of  prayers.  Their 
mistake  was  a  common  one.  Luther  remarks,  "Few 
words  and  much  meaning  is  Christian ;  many  words 
and  little  meaning  is  heathenish."  We  smile  at  the 
Tibetan  and  his  prayer-wheel,  while  praying  our- 
selves in  the  same  mechanical  fashion.  We  have 
need  to  remember  that  it  is  not  the  length  but  the 
strength  of  prayers ;  not  their  size  but  their  spiritual 
content;  not  their  quantity  but  their  quality,  that 
renders  them  acceptable  to  God. 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS         ^y 

3.    With  a  Forgiving  Spirit. 

"Whensoever  ye  stand  praying,  forgive,  if  ye 
have  aught  against  anyone;  that  your  Father  also 
who  is  in  heaven  may  forgive  you  your  trespasses" 
(Mark  11.  25).  "If  ye  forgive  men  their  tres- 
passes, your  heavenly  Father  will  also  forgive  you. 
But  if  ye  forgive  not  men  their  trespasses,  neither 
will  your  Father  forgive  your  trespasses"  (Matt. 
6.  14,  15).  A  forgiving  spirit  is  a  prime  condition 
of  acceptable  approach  to  God.  It  is  one  of  the 
distinctive  marks  of  a  Christian.  The  man  who 
does  not  possess  it  has  not  the  spirit  of  Christ,  and 
has  no  standing  before  the  Father  as  his  spiritual 
child.  It  is  expected  that  one  who  has  been  for- 
given of  God  will  forgive  his  brother. 

The  sandal  tree  perfumes  when  riven 

The  ax  that  laid  it  low, 
Let  him  who  hopes  to  be  forgiven. 

Forgive  and  bless  his  foe. 

A  spirit  of  forgiveness  is  one  of  the  first  fruits  of 
Christian  experience.  "What  can  Jesus  Christ  do 
for  you  now?"  exclaimed  a  cruel  taskmaster,  who 
was  inflicting  severe  and  unmerited  punishment 
upon  a  slave.  "He  can  help  me  to  forgive  you," 
was  the  reply.  Whoever  has  not  learned  to  forgive 
his  brother  man  has  not  received  his  first  lesson  in 
the  school  of  Christ ;  and  when  he  prays  the  heavens 
above  him  will  be  as  brass,  and  his  prayers  will 
come  bounding  back  upon  his  own  spirit,  while  he 
himself  stands  outside  the  circle  within  which  divine 
mercy  operates. 


78  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

4.    With  Self -Denial. 

"Worshiping  with  fastings  and  supplications 
night  and  day"  (Luke  2.  37).  "This  kind  can 
come  out  by  nothing,  save  by  prayer  and  fasting" 
(Mark  9.  29).  The  two  words  "and  fasting,"  in 
the  latter  text,  are  omitted  from  some  of  the  best 
manuscripts,  but  many  ancient  authorities  contain 
them.  They  are  probably  authentic;  and  they  are 
certainly  in  harmony  with  subsequent  apostolic 
teaching.  Prayer  and  fasting  are  often  connected 
in  the  writings  of  the  apostles;  and,  what  is  still 
more  significant,  they  have  been  connected  in  prac- 
tice throughout  the  Christian  centuries.  The  great 
saints  have  prayed  with  fasting. 

Jesus  himself  neither  enjoins  nor  forbids  fasting, 
but  he  often  assumes  its  practice  by  his  followers. 
He  was  no  ascetic.  "He  came  eating  and  drinking," 
yet  he  recognized  fasting  as  appropriate  to  times 
of  sorrow,  and  as  profitable  in  securing  certain 
spiritual  ends  in  Christian  experience.  He  did  not 
look  upon  it  as  a  thing  meritorious  in  itself,  but 
simply  as  a  means  of  obtaining  self-conquest.  By 
detachment  from  the  physical,  closer  attachment  to 
the  spiritual  was  to  be  won;  by  keeping  the  body 
under  the  spirit  was  to  be  kept  on  the  top;  by  un- 
loosing the  hold  upon  earth-life  the  soul  was  to  be 
able  to  rise  on  the  wings  of  prayer  to  its  native 
heaven,  and  become  open  to  a  new  infilling  of 
divine  power. 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS         79 

5.    With  Watchfulness. 

"Watch  and  pray,  that  ye  enter  not  into  tempta- 
tion" (Mark  14.  38).  "Watch  ye  at  every  season, 
making  supplication,  that  ye  may  prevail  to  escape 
all  these  things  that  shall  come  to  pass,  and  to 
stand  before  the  Son  of  man"  (Luke  21.  36). 
"Take  ye  heed,  watch  and  pray;  for  ye  know  not 
when  the  time  is"  (Mark  13.  33). 

Prayer  is  no  substitute  for  action.  It  is  effective 
when  it  works  itself  out.  The  answer  to  it  gener- 
ally comes  when  man  himself  cooperates  with  God 
in  bringing  it  to  pass.  We  are  not  warranted  in 
asking  God  to  do  anything  for  us  that  we  can  do 
ourselves;  but  we  are  warranted  in  asking  him  for 
help  to  do  our  own  work  efficiently.  Nothing  is 
accomplished  without  his  aid,  and  nothing  is  ac- 
complished without  the  use  of  means.  "I  turn  my 
camel  loose,  and  commit  him  to  God,"  said  one  of 
his  followers  to  Mohammed.  "First  tie  up  your 
camel  and  then  commit  him  to  God,"  was  the  reply 
of  the  prophet. 

The  conjunction  of  watchfulness  and  prayer  in 
the  texts  quoted  implies  that  the  one  who  prays 
will  shun  the  temptations  from  which  he  asks  God 
to  keep  him ;  that  he  will  have  a  sharp  eye  for  any 
loophole  of  escape;  and  that  while  faithful  to  his 
appointed  task,  he  will  maintain  a  sleepless  out- 
look for  the  return  of  "the  Lord  of  the  house."  He 
will  use  prayer  as  a  safeguard  of  the  soul,  prepar^ 
ing  by  it  beforehand  for  the  sifting  of  soul  that 


8o  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

may  come  in  the  duties  and  temptations  of  the  day. 
Never  will  he  reach  a  position  in  which  the  need  for 
prayer  and  watchfulness  is  outgrown.  Madam 
Guyon  professed  the  doctrine  of  complete  sanctifi- 
cation,  yet  she  admits  that  she  found  it  necessary 
to  watch  and  pray,  and  to  guard  against  spiritual 
pride,  inasmuch  as  her  state  was  only  one  of  "com- 
parative immutability."  The  introduction  of  the 
word  "comparative"  saved  her  intellectual  and 
spiritual  sanity.  There  is  no  one,  however  firmly 
founded,  who  cannot  be  moved  from  his  base ;  and 
because  of  that  fact  he  dare  not  at  any  time  cease 
to  watch  and  pray. 

6.    With  Importunity. 

"And  he  said  unto  them,  Which  of  you  shall  have 
a  friend,  and  shall  go  unto  him  at  midnight,  and 
say  unto  him,  Friend,  lend  me  three  loaves;  for  a 
friend  of  mine  is  come  to  me  from  a  journey,  and 
I  have  nothing  to  set  before  him;  and  he  from 
within  shall  answer  and  say.  Trouble  me  not:  the 
door  is  now  shut,  and  my  children  are  with  me  in 
bed ;  I  cannot  rise  and  give  thee  ?  I  say  unto  you, 
Though  he  will  not  rise  and  give  him  because  he  is 
a  friend,  yet  because  of  his  importunity  he  will 
arise  and  give  him  as  many  as  he  needeth"  (Luke 
II.  5-8).  This  dramatic  parable,  which  Luke  places 
at  the  close  of  the  Model  Prayer,  has  for  its  lesson 
the  true  grounds  of  urgency  in  prayer.  It  is  a 
parable  of  contrast,  and  illustrates  the  difference 
between  selfish  compliance  and  benevolent  respon- 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS         8i 

siveness.  The  reluctance  of  the  churlish  neighbor 
is  real,  the  reluctance  of  the  heavenly  Father  is 
seeming.  Delay  is  not  denial.  Reasons  may  exist 
why  a  petition  should  not  be  granted  at  once,  but 
no  reason  exists  why  God  should  withhold  from  his 
children  what  they  really  need. 

God  is  as  unlike  this  unfriendly,  disobliging 
neighbor  as  it  is  possible  to  conceive.  He  does  not 
give  grudgingly.  We  do  not  require  to  wring  a 
reluctant  blessing  from  his  hand.  He  delights  to 
give;  and  if  he  withholds  for  a  time,  he  is  pleased 
with  our  urgency,  although  grieved  that  we  should 
so  often  misunderstand  his  real  feeling  toward  us. 
"We  prevail  with  men  by  importunity,"  says 
Matthew  Henry,  "because  they  are  displeased,  but 
with  God  because  he  is  pleased  with  it."  The  cer- 
tainty that  God  is  interested  in  us,  and  is  ready 
to  answer  our  prayer  is  our  encouragement,  and 
affords  a  reasonable  ground  for  importunity.  Alford 
points  out  the  closer  connection  between  the  parable 
and  the  words  that  follow,  "Ask,  and  it  shall  be 
given  you,"  and  sees  in  this  completed  truth  a 
revelation  of  "the  great  law  of  our  Father's  spiritual 
kingdom — a,  clause  out  of  the  eternal  covenant 
which  cannot  be  changed." 

7.   With  Persistency. 

"And  he  spake  a  parable  unto  them  to  the  end 
that  they  ought  always  to  pray,  and  not  to  faint" 
(Luke  18.  i).  The  parable  to  which  these  words 
are  the  preface  is  that  of  the  unrighteous  judge 


82  THE  PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

and  the  troublesome  widow.  Its  object  is  the  same 
as  that  of  the  preceding  parable,  and  it  resembles 
it  still  further  in  being  a  parable  of  contrast;  but, 
whereas  in  the  former  parable  the  contrast  is  be- 
tween a  selfish  neighbor  and  the  heavenly  Friend, 
here  the  contrast  is  between  an  unjust  judge  and 
the  righteous  Father. 

Because  God  is  well  disposed  prayer  should  be 
persistent.  "Men  ought  always  to  pray,  and  not  to 
faint" ;  that  is,  they  ought  to  pray,  and  stay  for  the 
answer;  they  ought  to  pray  through  to  the  very 
end;  not  fainting  because  the  way  is  long,  and  the 
answer  slow  in  coming.  The  reason  for  persistence 
is  not  that  it  overcomes  divine  reluctance  but  that 
it  finds  a  sure  and  certain  response  in  divine  willing- 
ness. We  hold  on  and  hold  out  because  we  know 
that  our  Father  will  not  say  us  nay.  We  are  all 
prone  to  grow  remiss  in  prayer.  Habit  stales. 
Long-continued  strain  produces  lassitude.  "Hope 
deferred  maketh  the  heart  sick."  The  hands  hang 
down;  and  prayer,  if  not  altogether  given  up,  is 
continued  in  a  feeble  way,  through  the  ever-decreas- 
ing momentum  of  a  past  experience.  To  rally  our 
spiritual  forces,  and  keep  us  upon  our  knees,  Jesus 
told  this  story  of  the  unrighteous  judge  who  was 
moved  to  redress  this  widow,  not  as  an  act  of 
justice,  but  because  she  kept  plaguing  him  by  her 
continual  coming,  and  he  asks,  "Shall  not  the 
righteous  Father,  who  is  rich  in  mercy  and  ready 
to  help,  answer  the  cry  for  redress  of  his  own 
elect,  who  are  forever  dear  to  him?"     That  is  to 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS         83 

say,   If   persistent  pleading  prevails   over   apathy,   \ 
how  much  more  will  it  prevail  over  love? 

To  this  question  Jesus  answers,  *'I  tell  you  that 
he  will  avenge  them  speedily."  There  will  be  no  \ 
unnecessary  delay.  If  the  divine  Father  appears  to 
tarry,  it  is  because  the  proper  hour  has  not  yet 
struck,  or  because  the  petitioner  is  not  prepared  to 
receive  what  he  has  asked.  The  answer  is  to  be 
calmly  awaited.  God  will  give  it  as  speedily  as  pos- 
sible, in  view  of  all  the  interests  involved;  not  be- 
cause he  has  been  teased  and  worried  into  com- 
pliance, but  because  he  delights  to  give  whenever 
he  wisely  can.  A  quiet  trust  in  his  love  will  lead  us 
to  keep  praying  on  with  a  holy  persistency  that 
knows  no  abatement,  while  patiently  waiting  the 
outworking  of  his  will. 

8.   With  Humility. 

To  impress  the  hearts  of  men  with  the  need  of 
humility  in  prayer,  Jesus  tells  this  story :  'Two  men 
went  up  into  the  temple  to  pray ;  the  one  a  Pharisee 
and  the  other  a  publican.  The  Pharisee  stood  and 
prayed  thus  with  himself,  God,  I  thank  thee  that  I 
am  not  as  the  rest  of  men,  extortioners,  unjust, 
adulterers,  or  even  as  this  publican.  I  fast  twice 
in  the  week ;  I  give  tithes  of  all  that  I  get.  But  the 
publican,  standing  afar  off,  would  not  lift  up  so 
much  as  his  eyes  unto  heaven,  but  smote  his  breast, 
saying,  God,  be  thou  merciful  to  me  a  sinner.  I 
say  unto  you.  This  man  went  down  to  his  house 
justified  rather  than  the  other :  for  every  one  that 


84  THE  PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

exalteth  himself  shall  be  humbled;  but  he  that 
humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted"  (Luke  i8.  lo- 
14).  In  the  introduction  to  this  story  or  parable  it 
is  stated  that  it  was  spoken  for  the  benefit  of 
"certain  who  trusted  in  themselves  that  they  were 
righteous,  and  set  all  others  at  naught."  Its  object 
was  to  expose  and  to  condemn  the  sin  of  self- 
righteousness.  With  the  Jewish  people  the  vain- 
glorious Pharisee  was  the  model  saint.  They  wor- 
shiped the  very  ground  upon  which  he  trod.  How 
astonished  and  confounded  therefore  they  must 
have  been  when  Jesus,  as  a  revolutionist  in  morals, 
hurled  him  from  his  pedestal,  and  put  in  his  place 
the  penitent  publican — thus  giving  to  the  world  a 
new  model  of  piety. 

With  a  few  sharp  strokes  he  puts  into  bold  relief 
the  characteristics  of  these  two  men,  showing  that 
while  engaging  in  the  same  act  of  worship  they 
were  as  the  poles  asunder.  The  Pharisee  stood  up 
boldly,  with  eyes  and  hands  uplifted,  and  prayed 
"with  himself"  or  "to  himself" — ashamed  to  utter 
aloud  the  thoughts  which  his  heart  conceived. 
What  he  looked  upon  as  prayer  was  really  a  so- 
liloquy, which  failed  to  ascend  to  heaven.  In  a 
spirit  of  self-gratulation  he  begins  with  a  recital  of 
the  catalogue  of  his  virtues.  He  thanks  the  Lord 
that  he  is  a  shining  exception  to  the  rest  of  men. 
He  is  not  unjust  in  his  dealings;  he  is  not  guilty  of 
open  sin ;  if  he  cannot  boast  of  a  clean  heart,  he  can 
boast  of  clean  hands.  He  fasts  every  Monday  and 
Thursday;  he  tithes  everything  he  earns — ^going  in 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS        85 

both  of  these  matters  beyond  the  strict  require- 
ments of  the  law.  Puffed  up  with  pride  and  self- 
complacency,  he  looks  upon  the  Lord  as  his  debtor 
for  his  work  of  supererogation;  and  upon  his  fellow 
worshipers  standing  in  the  rear  he  looks  with  a 
feeling  of  the  utmost  disdain.  Self-deluded  as  to 
his  real  condition  and  to  the  issue  of  his  prayer,  he 
goes  down  from  the  temple  to  his  house  condemned 
of  heaven. 

The  publican,  on  the  other  hand,  with  an  utter 
absence  of  self-assurance,  bends  his  eyes  earth- 
ward, while  lifting  his  heart  heavenward,  and  smites 
upon  his  breast  in  token  of  contrition,  exclaiming, 
"God,  be  propitious  to  me  the  sinner."  He  makes 
no  pretense,  and  no  apology.  As  a  member  of  an 
ostracized  class  he  has  no  reputation  to  maintain. 
Moved  by  a  deep  sense  of  sinfulness,  he  casts  him- 
self in  humility  and  self-abasement  upon  the  mercy 
of  God,  with  the  result  that  his  prayer  is  accepted, 
and  he  goes  down  to  his  house  justified  in  the  sight 
of  heaven.  "The  Pharisee  justified  himself,"  says 
Dr.  A.  T.  Pierson,  "but  God  condemns  him;  the 
publican  condemns  himself,  but  God  justifies  him. 
From  the  lips  of  a  sinner  no  other  prayer  than  that 
of  the  humble  taxgatherer  is  befitting,  and  no  other 
will  prevail." 

9.    With  Confidence  in  God's  Responsiveness. 

"I  say  unto  you.  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you ; 
seek,  and  ye  shall  find ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened 
unto  you.    For  every  one  that  asketh  receiveth ;  and 


v^    n 


86  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

he  that  seeketh  findeth;  and  to  him  that  knocketh 
it  shall  be  opened"  (Luke  ii.  9,  10). 

This  exhortation  follows  the  parable  of  the  un- 
eighborly  neighbor  in  which  man's  unresponsive- 
ness is  contrasted  with  God's  responsiveness.  We 
are  heartened  to  ask  that  we  may  receive  because 
we  come  to  a  friendly  God,  who  is  willing  and  ready 
to  give  us  everything  that  we  need.  There  is  here 
an  ascending  cHmax.  We  are  to  "ask"  in  the  sense 
of  making  formal  request;  we  are  to  "seek"  in  the 
sense  of  prosecuting  our  quest;  we  are  to  "knock" 
in  the  sense  of  making  urgent  and  repeated  de- 
mands; and  whether  we  pray  for  ourselves  or  for 
others,  we  are  to  keep  on  asking  until  we  receive, 
and  seeking  until  we  find,  and  knocking  until  the 
door  is  opened. 

In  all  these  experiences  there  is  more  than  aspira- 
tion, more  than  desire,  more  than  "the  continual 
disposition  of  prayer" — there  is  actual,  formal, 
definite  petition.  What  the  soul  strongly  desires  it 
strongly  pleads  for;  its  desire  is  kindled  into  a 
blaze  of  earnest  intreaty.  It  is  clamorously  insist- 
ent, eagerly  acquisitive,  greedily  appropriative. 

The  ground  for  confident  asking  is  placed  by 
Jesus  in  God's  fatherly  relation  to  the  children  of 
men.  "Of  which  of  you  that  is  a  father  shall  his 
son  ask  a  loaf,  and  he  give  him  a  stone?  or  a  fish, 
and  he  for  a  fish  give  him  a  serpent?  Or,  if  he 
shall  ask  an  ^ggy  will  he  give  him  a  scorpion  ?  If  ye 
then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  to 
your  children,  how  much  more  will  your  heavenly 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS         87 

Father  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him  ?" 
(Verses  11-13.)  In  the  words  "how  much  more" 
we  have  an  argument  from  the  less  to  the  greater; 
from  the  limited  knowledge  of  the  earthly  father  to 
the  unlimited  knowledge  of  the  heavenly  Father. 
The  one  to  whom  we  pray  is  one  who  knows  us 
perfectly;  he  knows  our  needs;  he  knows  all  the 
circumstances  of  our  lives;  he  knows  what  is  the 
absolute  best  for  us  in  any  condition  in  which  we 
can  be  placed. 

Not  only  does  he  know,  he  also  loves.  His  provi- 
dential, foreseeing,  fatherly  care  is  over  and  around 
us.  His  hand  is  stretched  to  bless  us,  and  to  guide 
us  in  all  the  afifairs  of  life.  His  responsiveness  is 
the  responsiveness  of  one  who  is  sensitive  to  the 
slightest  touch  of  appeal,  and  who  is  too  good  to 
keep  back  anything  that  he  can  safely  bestow.  He 
gives  ''good  things,"  according  to  Matthew ;  or  the 
best  and  highest  thing,  namely,  "the  Holy  Spirit," 
according  to  Luke.  To  every  suppliant  he  throws 
open  the  doors  of  the  heavenly  treasure  house,  say- 
ing, "My  child,  all  that  is  mine  is  thine ;  for  thee  it  is 
held,  to  thee  will  I  minister  it  for  thy  good  and  not 
for  thy  hurt." 

Does  anyone  want  to  know  what  the  God  to 
whom  he  prays  is  like  ?  Then  let  him  turn  to  Jesus, 
in  whose  life  of  gracious,  tender  ministry  the 
fatherly  heart  of  God  is  revealed.  To  every  one 
who  sought  his  help  he  responded  at  once.  If  a 
sufferer  but  touched  the  hem  of  his  robe,  power  was 
emitted,  and  he  was  made  perfectly  whole.     His 


88  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

responsiveness  to  the  demands  made  upon  him  was 
not  merely  an  illustration  of  the  responsiveness  of 
God ;  it  was  the  responsiveness  of  God.  It  was  the 
response  of  a  divine,  personal  Friend,  touched  with 
a  feehng  of  human  infirmity;  a  Friend  who  could 
not  turn  away  the  prayer  of  the  weakest  and  the 
unworthiest  from  him,  nor  give  a  stone  to  anyone 
who  asked  for  bread;  a  Friend  who  will  always 
give  what  in  his  unerring  wisdom  he  deems  it  best 
that  any  suppliant  should  receive. 


CHAPTER  III 
GENERAL  TEACHINGS 
I.   On  Secret  Prayer. 

"When  thou  prayest,  enter  into  thine  inner 
chamber,  and  having  shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy 
Father  who  is  in  secret,  and  thy  Father  who  seest 
in  secret  shall  recompense  thee"  (Matt.  6.  6). 
There  is  a  social  side  to  prayer;  and  there  is  also 
a  solitary  side.  There  is  prayer  in  which  spirits 
blend,  and  there  is  prayer  in  which  God  and  the 
individual  soul  alone  are  concerned — a  communion 
with  heaven  so  close  and  intimate  that  the  mystics 
have  described  it  as  "being  alone  with  the  Alone." 

To  attain  this  inner  fellowship  certain  things  are 
demanded.  The  first  of  these  is  separation  from 
the  world  of  external  things,  the  breaking,  as  far 
as  possible,  connection  with  the  outer  world,  the 
barring  of  the  door  of  the  senses,  the  silencing  of 
the  noises  that  drown  the  voice  of  God.  In  effect- 
ing this  there  should  be  an  absence  of  all  unseemly 
haste;  every  movement  should  be  deliberate  and 
leisurely;  and  ample  time  should  be  taken  to  hear 
God  out.  Commenting  on  this  text,  William  Law  / 
remarks,  "Now,  here  is,  indeed,  no  mention  of  time 
that  prayer  is  to  be  continued ;  but  yet  this  prepara- 
tion for  prayer — of  entering  into  the  closet  and 
shutting  the  door — seems  to  teach  us  that  it  is  a 
89 


90  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

work  of  some  time ;  that  we  are  not  hastily  to  open 
the  door,  but  to  allow  ourselves  time  to  continue  to 
be  importunate  in  prayer."  And  he  reasons  that  by 
frequent  and  continued  prayer  the  spirit  of  prayer 
is  begotten  and  nourished;  that  what  the  mouth 
asks  the  heart  may  come  to  desire;  that,  in  short, 
we  can  "pray  ourselves  into  devotion,"  and  that,  as 
Jeremy  Taylor  remarks,  "If  we  pray  often,  we 
^   shall  pray  oftener." 

It  is  possible,  however,  to  withdraw  outwardly 
from  the  world,  and  take  the  world  with  us  into 
our  place  of  retirement.  We  may  go  apart  with  our 
little  handful  of  cares,  and  fix  our  thoughts  upon 
them;  we  may  nurse  our  sorrows,  brood  over  our 
real  or  fancied  wrongs,  and,  forgetting  the  tryst  we 
have  promised  to  keep,  overlook  the  presence  of 
"the  Father  who  seeth  in  secret,"  and  who  is  wait- 
ing for  us,  that  he  may  take  away  every  burden 
from  our  hearts. 

With  separation  from  the  world  there  must  go 
concentration  of  the  mind  upon  the  object  of  wor- 
ship. We  are  to  enter  into  the  silence  leaving  be- 
hind all  that  would  divide  the  attention  and  distract 
the  thought.  Thomas  Aquinas  argues  that  "he 
prays  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  whoever  goes  to  prayer 
with  the  spirit  and  intention  of  praying,  though 
afterward  through  misery  and  frailty  his  thoughts 
may  wander."  That  is  true;  yet  everyone  ought 
to  endeavor  to  get  the  mastery  of  himself,  and  to 
keep  his  thoughts  from  wandering.  He  ought,  by  a 
strenuous  effort  of  the  will,  to  control  his  wayward, 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS         91 

vagrant  thoughts,  compelling  them  to  turn  in  a  new 
direction,  and  fixing  them  steadily  upon  God,  for 
the  main  object  of  his  retirement  is  not  that  he  may 
become  familiar  with  himself,  but  that  he  may 
become  familiar  with  God.  He  leaves  the  multi- 
tude at  the  tent  door,  that  he  may  enter  into  the 
secret  place  and  learn  the  mind  of  his  Great  Com- 
mander, by  whose  authoritative  word  his  every  act 
is  controlled. 

But  while  outward  seclusion  is  an  advantage  for 
quiet,  refreshing  converse  with  God,  it  is  not  a 
necessity.  We  can  find  God  in  the  crowded  street 
car  as  well  as  in  nature's  soHtudes ;  we  can  make  a 
little  sanctuary  in  the  heart,  where  we  are  much 
alone  with  him  as  in  the  most  peaceful  sylvan 
retreat.  As  another  has  said,  "Solitude  may  be 
found  amidst  the  crowd,  and  society  in  the  desert." 
"Everyone,"  says  Jeremy  Taylor,  "can  build  a 
chapel  in  his  breast,  himself  the  priest,  his 
heart  the  sacrifice,  and  the  earth  he  treads  on  the 
altar." 

There  is  a  viewless  cloistered  room 
As  high  as  heaven,  as  fair  as  day, 

Where,  though  my  feet  may  join  the  throng, 
My  soul  can  enter  in,  and  pray. 

The  closet  is  the  closed  place ;  the  place  from  which 
the  world  is  closed  out,  the  place  where  the  soul 
is  closed  in  with  God.  In  this  closed  place  the  soul 
may  not  only  talk  to  God,  but  zvith  him.  The  two 
are  there  alone,  and  hold  the  holiest  communion. 


92  THE   PLACE   OF  PRAYER 

Outward  separation  is  often  unattainable,  inward 
separation  never  is. 

2.    The  Almightiness  of  the  Prayer  of  Faith. 

"All  things  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  prayer 
believing,  ye  shall  receive"  (Matt.  21.  22).  "All 
things  whatsoever  ye  pray  and  ask  for,  believe  that 
ye  receive  them,  and  ye  shall  have  them"  (Mark  11. 
24).  A  more  literal  rendering  of  Mark's  words 
would  be,  "Believe  that  ye  have  received  them,  and 
ye  shall  have  them" ;  that  is,  claim  the  thing  asked 
for  as  yours;  affirm  your  right  to  its  possession; 
lay  hands  upon  it,  appropriating  it  to  yourself, 
saying,  "It  is  already  mine,"  and  stagger  not  at  the 
greatness  of  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome  or  of 
the  work  to  be  done;  for  "whosoever  shall  say 
unto  this  mountain.  Be  thou  taken  up  and  cast  into 
the  sea;  and  shall  not  doubt  in  his  heart,  but  shall 
believe  that  what  he  saith  cometh  to  pass;  he  shall 
have  it"  (Mark  11.  23). 

These  words  are  not  to  be  taken  literally.  They 
belong  to  the  language  of  poetry.  They  have  no 
reference  to  the  workings  of  external  changes  in 
the  realm  of  nature.  All  that  they  can  possibly 
mean  is  that  there  are  no  obstacles,  however  great, 
that  can  permanently  impede  the  conquering  prayer 
of  faith.  Mountains  of  difficulty  lie  in  the  way 
obstructing  the  path  of  the  Christian  and  obstruct- 
ing the  progress  of  the  Kingdom.  These  he  can 
neither  scale,  nor  get  around.  They  must  be  re- 
moved ;  but  how  ?    What  hand  is  strong  enough  to 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS         93 

tear  them  from  their  socket  and  hurl  them  into  the 
sea  ?  Jesus  says  the  hand  of  the  man  who  beHeves, 
and  doubts  not.  BeHeves  in  what  and  in  whom? 
Not  he  that  beHeves  in  himself,  surely.  Faith  in 
ourself  does  indeed  work  wonders.  "They  can  be- 
cause they  believe  they  can,"  said  Virgil  of  the 
winning  crew  in  his  famous  boat  race.  But  this  is 
not  the  faith  referred  to  here.  The  faith  that 
removes  mountains  is  not  faith  in  one's  own  power 
but  faith  in  the  power  of  God.  To  remove  the 
apparently  insurmountable,  Jesus  says,  "Have  faith 
in  God,"  literally,  "Have  the  faith  of  God" ;  not,  of 
course,  the  faith  of  which  he  is  the  subject,  but  the 
faith  of  which  he  is  the  object — the  faith  which 
terminates  on  him  and  rests  in  him;  namely,  faith 
in  his  illimitable  resources,  and  in  his  infinite  power. 
The  power  of  faith  is  in  its  object.  In  the 
feeblest  faith  omnipotence  is  hidden,  and  through 
it  omnipotence  works.  "If  ye  have  faith  as  a  grain 
of  mustard  seed,"  says  Jesus  in  another  connection, 
"nothing  shall  be  impossible  unto  you"  (Matt.  17. 
20).  By  faith  we  are  united  to  the  power  of  God, 
which,  working  in  us  and  through  us,  accomplishes 
marvelous  results.  This  union  being  moral,  safe- 
guards the  use  of  power,  and  guarantees  that  there 
will  be  no  desire  to  do  anything  except  what  God 
wants  to  have  done.  "When  the  desire  reaches  the 
will  of  God,  and  entering  into  it  settles  itself  there, 
it  has  laid  hold  of  omnipotence.  No  wonder  there- 
fore that  ah  things  are  possible  to  the  faith  that 
goes    along    with    it"    (Morison,    in    loco).      No 


94  THE  PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

wonder,  indeed,  when  within  and  behind  the  be- 
lieving soul  are  all  the  forces  of  the  universe,  so 
that  it  is  not  he  that  acts,  but  God  who  acts  through 
him.  And  since  to  God  belongs  the  power,  to  him 
be  the  glory  forever. 

It  was  the  usual  way  with  Jesus,  in  stating  truth, 
to  speak  without  qualification;  putting  no  shading 
in  his  picture,  and  adding  no  reservation  to  his 
promise.  By  adopting  this  method  he  sought  to 
startle  men  to  thought,  and  to  awaken  them  to  a 
sense  of  the  greatness  of  spiritual  facts  and  the 
almightiness  of  spiritual  forces.  His  "whatsoever 
ye  will,"  and  "whatsoever  ye  shall  ask,"  represent 
all  limitations  as  giving  way  to  faith-filled  prayer, 
but  his  general  teaching  makes  it  clear  that  the 
prayer  of  faith  is  Hmitless  within  limits.  Reason 
must  always  be  employed  in  the  interpretation  of 
his  teachings,  which  are  to  be  taken  in  their  en- 
tirety, one  expression  qualifying  and  explaining 
another.  Due  account  must  also  be  made  of  the 
fact  that  as  an  Oriental  Jesus  uses  figures  of  speech 
which  seem  colorless  and  tame  when  translated  into 
our  cold  and  prosaic  Occidental  terms.  We  must 
therefore  beware  of  paring  down  such  words  as 
those  before  us  until  all  their  force  is  lost.  After 
all  necessary  qualifications  have  been  made  they 
will  be  found  to  teach  that  the  prayer  of  faith  has 
a  sphere  of  its  own  in  which  it  possesses  a  kind  of 
"vicarious  omnipotence." 

The  history  of  the  church  furnishes  a  long  list 
of  saints  who  through  faith  achieved  the  impossible. 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS         95 

Among  the  modern  instances  perhaps  no  one  is 
pointed  to  more  frequently  than  George  Muller. 
His  was  a  faith  that  could  remove  mountains.  Pro- 
fessor James  describes  him  as  "3.  sturdy  beggar," 
who  took  the  promises  of  God  seriously  and  liter- 
ally, and  who  would  not  let  God  off  until  he  gave 
him  what  he  asked.  Grant  that  his  faith  was  put 
into  a  somewhat  narrow  setting,  still  it  was  real 
and  vital,  and  full  of  force  like  a  rock-bound  stream. 
Everything  had  to  give  way  before  it.  God  honored 
it  as  he  honors  the  strong  faith  of  every  saint, 
however  much  it  may  be  mixed  up  with  human 
frailty  or  with  imperfect  vision  of  his  wider  plan. 
To  the  humble  Christian  it  brings  comfort  unspeak- 
able to  know  that  the  promise  does  not  read  "ac- 
cording to  your  knowledge  be  it  unto  you,"  but 
"according  to  your  faith."  In  the  prayer-life  the 
kingdom  is  given  to  the  childlike.  To  the  faith- 
born  prayer  of  the  feeblest  saint  everything  that 
stands  in  the  way  of  the  fulfillment  of  God's  pur- 
pose of  grace  must  ultimately  yield. 

'       3.   Exceptions. 

"Pray  that  your  flight  be  not  in  the  winter" 
(Mark  13.  18).  The  people  to  whom  these  words 
were  addressed  were  living  on  the  edge  of  one  of 
the  world's  greatest  catastrophes.  As  they  beheld 
the  gathering  clouds  they  were  forbidden  to  pray 
that  the  storm  might  not  break  and  were  told 
merely  to  pray  that  they  might  be  able  to  adjust 
themselves  to  it,  that  its  severity  might  be  miti- 


96  THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

gated.  When  the  decree  of  God  has  gone  forth  and 
his  purpose  has  been  clearly  declared,  there  are 
judgments  coming  for  the  removal  of  which  no 
prayer  avails. 

Volumes  have  been  v^ritten  recounting  marvelous 
answers  to  prayer,  especially  in  warding  off  dis- 
aster; but  many  more  volumes  might  be  written 
teUing  of  similar  prayers  that  were  not  answered. 
The  list  of  answered  prayers  of  this  kind  is  more 
than  offset  by  the  list  of  unanswered  prayers.  And 
since  one  exception  shatters  a  theory,  the  theory 
that  all  prayer  for  deliverance  from  danger  is 
answered  must  go.  The  testimony  of  experience 
is  overwhelmingly  against  it. 

A  ship  is  driven  on  the  rocks  and  is  fast  sinking, 
when  in  answer  to  prayer  the  captain  of  a  passing 
vessel,  who  has  been  strangely  moved  to  change 
his  course,  comes  to  its  relief.  This  is  regarded 
as  wonderful  providence;  and  so  it  is.  But  soon 
after  another  ship  strikes  the  same  rocks  and  springs 
a  leak.  On  board  are  some  of  God's  own,  who 
raise  an  agonizing  cry  to  a  mute  heaven.  No  timely 
deliverance  comes,  and  they  are  engulfed  in  the 
waves,  at  the  very  moment  when  they  are  upon 
their  knees. 

An  earthquake  occurs,  by  which  a  busy,  pros- 
perous city  is  converted  into  one  vast  sepulcher. 
Some  of  the  people  while  fleeing  blindly  from 
danger  have  hairbreadth  escapes,  for  which  they 
afterward  meet  and  return  thanks  to  God.  But 
what  of  the  rest?     What  of  those  who  between 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS         97 

the  shocks  rush  for  refuge  to  the  churches,  and 
while  in  the  act  of  imploring  the  God  of  heaven  to 
stay  his  hand  are  entombed  in  the  falling  walls? 
Similar  cases  readily  suggest  themselves.  Pesti- 
lence stalks  through  the  land.  It  enters  a  praying 
family,  two  members  of  which  are  stricken  down; 
one  is  taken  and  the  other  left.  Two  people  are 
caught  in  the  grip  of  the  same  fell  disease;  they 
pray  to  the  same  God  and  Father;  one  recovers 
and  the  other  dies.  Two  guileless,  undefended 
maidens  are  exposed  to  an  unnameable  danger; 
both  pray  for  divine  protection;  one  is  rescued 
from  between  "the  horns  of  the  wild  oxen,"  the 
other  is  gored  to  death.  A  nation  is  upon  its  knees 
pleading  for  the  life  of  its  ruler  at  the  time  when  a 
mother  is  upon  her  knees  pleading  for  the  life  of 
her  worthless  son;  the  Hfe  of  the  honored  and 
useful  ruler  is  taken,  and  the  life  of  the  worthless 
lad  is  spared.  Cases  like  these  present  real  diffi- 
culties touching  the  efficacy  of  prayer.  When  a 
favorable  answer  is  given,  faith  is  confirmed ;  when 
it  is  denied,  faith  is  often  irretrievably  shattered. 
Any  theory  of  prayer  that  ignores  any  of  these 
facts  must  utterly  fail  to  yield  satisfaction  and  to 
win  acceptance. 

This  difficulty  may  be  looked  at  from  another 
point  of  view,  as  for  example,  when  two  opposing 
armies,  both  alike  convinced  of  the  justice  of  their 
cause,  plead  for  victory;  or  when  two  ships  going 
in  opposite  directions  pray  for  favoring  winds;  or 
when  two  farmers  pray  for  a  change  of  weather, 


98  THE   PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

the  one  praying  for  rain  because  his  soil  is  hght 
and  dry,  the  other  praying  for  fair  weather  because 
his  soil  is  heavy  and  wet.  It  is  clear  that  God 
cannot  answer  all  of  these  prayers.  To  answer 
one  he  has  to  deny  the  other. 

How  are  these  difficulties  to  be  met?  That  is 
indeed  a  hard  question ;  and  it  is  a  question  to  which 
only  a  partial  answer  can  be  given.  It  must  be 
admitted  that  God,  having  control  of  all  the  forces 
of  the  universe,  is  able  to  prevent  these  catastro- 
phes. That  he  does  not  always  do  so  indicates  that 
he  is  not  ruling  this  world  for  material  ends. 
Nowhere  does  he  promise  his  people  exemption 
from  outward  ills.  If  one  of  his  saints  can  sing, 
"This  poor  man  cried,  and  Jehovah  heard  him,  and 
saved  him  out  of  all  his  troubles,"  another  saint, 
equally  worthy  has  to  confess,  "This  poor  man 
cried,  and  the  Lord  heard  him,  and  allowed  him  to 
remain  in  the  thick  of  his  troubles."  In  the  present 
order  of  things  physical  evil  has  a  place.  It  comes 
to  all,  to  the  innocent  as  well  as  to  the  guilty.  The 
laws  of  nature  often  seem  to  operate  without  regard 
to  the  moral  condition  to  those  they  hurt.  God  may 
interfere — those  who  believe  in  the  efficacy  of 
prayer  must  believe  that  he  sometimes  does — but 
that  is  not  his  usual  way.  Just  because  he  is  ruling 
the  world  for  moral  ends  he  allows  those  things  to 
exist;  and  just  because  he  is  ordering  the  affairs 
of  life  for  moral  ends  he  allows  men  to  suffer. 
Sickness,  suffering,  disaster  belong  to  a  sinful  and 
disordered  world.    In  a  perfect  state  they  could  not 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS         99 

exist.  And  if  we  could  only  see  far  enough  into  the 
future,  all  these  dark  things  would  be  seen  to  be 
taken  up  into  the  divine  plan,  whose  vast  sweep 
includes  not  only  our  small  affairs  but  also  the 
interest  of  the  universe,  and  made  to  blend  into 
harmony,  as  parts  of  one  great  whole. 

Meantime  prayer  is  not  futile.  It  brings  man 
nearer  to  God;  it  clarifies  his  spiritual  vision;  it 
develops  within  him  a  sense  of  dependence ;  it  leads 
him  to  find  satisfaction  in  God  himself  rather  than 
in  outward  things,  to  hide  himself  in  his  fatherly 
bosom  until  the  storms  of  life  be  overpast,  to  trust 
his  unknown  ways  for  those  that  are  known,  to 
believe  in  his  goodness  whether  he  gives  or  denies, 
and  confidently  to  anticipate  the  satisfaction  of  a 
perfect  explanation  when  his  love-wrought  pur- 
poses have  been  carried  to  completion. 

4.  Prayer  as  a  Means  of  Discipline. 

"Your  Father  knoweth  what  things  ye  have  need 
of,  before  ye  ask  him"  (Matt.  6.  8).  The  "things" 
referred  to  are  temporal  things — things  needful 
for  the  body.  These  God  gives  or  withholds  as  it 
pleaseth  him,  and  as  it  profiteth  us.  They  are  not 
always  withheld  because  of  the  insufficiency  of  our 
faith,  but  because  a  loving  Father  does  not  think  it 
best  to  give  them.  He  knows  what  is  for  our 
highest  good;  he  is  wiser  and  kinder  than  our 
prayers;  he  holds  back  that  which  would  work 
injury,  and  gives  only  what  is  for  our  truest 
welfare. 


lOO  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

We,  ignorant  of  ourselves, 
Beg  often  our  own  harms,  which  the  wise  powers 
Deny  us  for  our  good,  so  find  we  profit 

By  losing  of  our  prayers. 

To  which  words  of  Shakespeare  may  be  added  those 
of  Hannah  More: 

Did  not  God 
Sometimes  withhold  in  mercy  what  we  ask, 
We  should  be  ruined 'at  our  own  request. 

By  the  manner  in  which  he  treats  their  petitions 
the  heavenly  Father  disciplines  his  children,  bend- 
ing them  to  his  will,  purifying  their  motives, 
strengthening  their  faith,  developing  their  char- 
acter, begetting  within  them  a  deeper  trust,  and 
leading  them  to  seek  the  things  that  are  most 
precious.  His  discipline  is  not  having  its  most  per- 
fect work  unless  prayer  is  becoming  more  exclu- 
sively spiritual,  and  temporal  things  are  being  taken 
for  granted.  As  in  life  so  in  prayer,  the  primacy 
is  to  be  given  to  the  spiritual,  and  God's  kingdom 
and  righteousness  are  to  be  sought  first,  and  the 
other  things  left  to  be  added  or  subtracted  as  he 
may  deem  best.  It  is  equally  encumbent  that  we 
pray  not  for  the  food  that  perisheth,  as  that  we 
"work  not  for  the  food  that  perisheth."  Prayer, 
like  work,  needs  spiritualizing,  and  its  quality  is 
determined  by  the  range  of  things  which  are 
habitually  asked. 

The  mystics  have  been  wont  to  speak  of  a  ladder 
of  prayer,  which  they  have  variously  described. 
Adopting  their  figure,  we  might  say  that  the  first 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS       loi 

rung  on  the  ladder  is  prayer  for  material  things; 
the  second  rung,  prayer  for  spiritual  blessings  of 
a  personal  nature ;  the  third  rung,  prayer  for  others, 
or  intercessory  prayer;  the  fourth  rung,  prayer  for 
the  realization  of  the  will  of  God  in  all  things.  Some 
remain  on  the  lowest  rung ;  others  get  a  step  or  two 
higher;  only  a  few  plant  their  feet  on  the  topmost 
rung.  Souls  in  which  the  true  spirit  of  prayer  is 
born  have  aspirations  after  the  higher  things,  and 
their  ascent  may  be  measured  by  the  development 
of  their  prayer  life. 

Happily,  God  looks  beneath  the  surface  of  our 
prayers,  and,  distinguishing  the  things  that  we  most 
deeply  desire  from  those  for  which  we  childishly 
clamor,  he  sifts  our  prayers,  separating  our  needs 
from  our  wants,  always  granting  the  former,  often 
denying  the  latter.  A  foolish  parent  who  has  no 
lofty  ideals  for  his  child  may  give  him  whatever 
he  asks;  a  wise  parent  who  considers  the  highest 
welfare  of  his  child  will  often  be  under  the  neces- 
sity of  crossing  his  will,  causing  him  bitter  dis- 
appointment; but  such  disappointment  may  prove 
the  medicine  of  his  soul,  purging  it  from  all  self- 
seeking,  and  leading  him  to  see  and  appreciate  the 
higher  ends  of  Hfe.  So  it  is  with  the  heavenly 
Father.  He  is  always  moved  by  the  request  of  his 
child  for  the  supply  of  any  want,  or  the  removal  of 
any  trial;  and  it  pains  him  not  to  be  able  to  grant 
it ;  but  his  disappointed  child  may  live  to  thank  him 
for  denying  his  request,  and  may  yet  come  to  see 
that  his  prayer  was  not  in  vain,  inasmuch  as  it 


I02  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

brought  him  into  sweet  accord  with  the  gracious 
purpose  which  the  All  Wise  was  seeking  to  work 
out  in  his  life.  In  view,  therefore,  of  the  liability 
to  err  in  judgment,  and  to  ask  amiss,  it  is  ever 
right  and  meet  to  pray, 

"The  good  unasked,  O  Father  grant; 
The  ill,  though  asked,  deny." 

What  is  looked  upon  as  unanswered  prayer  may 
simply  be  prayer  whose  answer  has  been  neces- 
sarily delayed.  Things  are  still  in  the  making,  and 
it  may  take  a  long  time  for  God  to  work  out  certain 
results.  Some  things  ripen  slowly;  but  many,  in 
their  haste,  would  fain  pluck  the  fruit  while  it  is 
yet  green.  They  grow  impatient  when  the  thing 
asked  for  does  not  arrive  at  once.  But  it  may  be 
on  the  way;  if  it  is  in  God's  plan,  it  will  surely 
come ;  if  not  in  his  plan,  who  would  want  it  ? 

The  answer  to  prayer  often  comes  in  a  different 
form,  and  always  in  a  better  form,  from  that  in 
which  it  was  expected  to  come.  God  is  always 
better  to  us  than  our  prayers.  He  sometimes  denies 
our  prayer  in  the  letter  that  he  may  answer  it  in 
the  spirit.  His  real  answer  is  often  hidden,  often 
misunderstood.  In  many  instances  it  is  not  till 
long  afterward  that  its  significance  begins  to  dawn 
upon  us;  and  then  we  are  glad  that  the  door  did 
not  open,  that  the  burden  was  not  removed,  that 
the  specific  favor  sought  was  not  given.  With 
anointed  eyes  we  see  that  some  better  thing  was 
reserved  for  us  than  that  which  we  insisted  upon 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS       103 

getting.  Professor  Drummond  well  illustrates  this 
point  in  the  story  of  a  little  girl,  who,  when  cross- 
ing the  ocean,  dropped  her  doll  over  the  side  of 
the  ship.  She  went  to  the  captain  and  begged  him 
to  stop  the  ship  that  she  might  recover  if.  When 
he  refused  her  request  she  thought  him  hard  and 
cruel.  Sometime  afterward  a  man  fell  overboard 
/  and  the  great  engine,  which  had  been  ceaselessly  at 
/  work  since  the  voyage  began,  stopped.  A  boat  was 
lowered,  and  a  life  was  saved.  When  the  vessel 
reached  the  harbor  the  first  thing  the  captain  did 
was  to  buy  that  little  girl  the  most  beautiful  doll 
in  all  the  city — and  yet  he  would  not  stop  the  ship 
for  her.  So  in  life's  voyage  the  Captain  does  not 
always  interfere  with  the  natural  order  of  events; 
he  does  not  always  stop  the  ship  to  secure  our  doll. 
He  knows  what  every  case  demands,  and  if  he  does 
not  grant  our  specific  request,  it  is  because  he  has 
designed  to  give  us  something  transcendently  better. 

5.   Baffled  Prayers, 

"Abba,  Father,  all  things  are  possible  unto  thee" 
(Mark  14.  36).  "And  when  he  drew  nigh,  he  saw 
the  city  and  wept  over  it"  (Luke  19.  41).  We  have 
bracketed  these  two  texts  together  because  they 
both  imply  the  limitations  of  prayer.  In  the  one, 
prayer  is  limited  by  divine  purpose;  in  the  other 
it  is  limited  by  the  opposition  of  the  will  of  the 
creature  to  the  will  of  God.  To  the  Father  "all 
things  are  possible,"  but  not  all  things  absolutely. 
He  cannot  do  anything  that  implies  a  contradiction ; 


I04  THE  PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

he  cannot  do  anything  that  is  morally  wrong;  he 
cannot  do  anything  that  conflicts  with  his  ultimate 
purpose.  On  the  latter  ground  it  was  impossible 
for  him  to  remove  the  cup  of  suffering  from  his 
praying  Son.  Here  it  was  impossible  to  give  him 
the  desire  of  his  heart  because  man  could  not  be 
coerced  into  goodness.  In  the  face  of  his  foiled 
desire  and  foiled  effort,  Jesus  wept.  His  heart  was 
broken.  The  significant  thing  about  his  tears  was 
that  they  were  shed  over  a  city  in  which  he  had 
labored  and  for  which  he  had  prayed,  a  city  nearing 
its  doom  because  his  labors  for  it  and  his  prayers 
for  it  had  been  baffled.  Within  the  physical  sphere 
his  power  was  unlimited  and  irresistible.  Nothing 
could  stand  before  it.  Those  who  witnessed  his 
power  over  nature  exclaimed,  "What  manner  of 
man  is  this,  that  even  the  winds  and  the  sea  obey 
him?"  Within  the  moral  sphere  his  power  was 
limited  and  resistible.  He  could  not  force  the  free 
nature  of  man;  all  he  could  do  was  to  persuade. 
The  sea  obeyed,  but  man  disobeyed ;  the  winds  were 
hushed  to  rest  at  his  word, 'but  the  rebellious  will 
of  man  could  not  be  subdued.  He  did  not  leave 
the  world  as  he  wanted  to  leave  it,  and  he  wept  at 
his  discomfiture. 

And  if  the  labors  and  prayers  of  the  Master  were 
nullified  by  man's  resistance  of  moral  influence, 
need  we  wonder  when  the  same  thing  happens  to 
us?  To  ignore  the  relation  of  human  freedom  to 
prayer  is  to  open  the  way  to  heart-aching  disap- 
pointment, and  to  the  possibility  of  the  wreck  of 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS       105 

faith.  The  case  is  frequently  cited  of  Monica  pray- 
ing for  years  for  her  son  Augustine,  and  of  her 
going  in  her  despair  to  Ambrose,  who  comforted 
her  with  the  words,  "Woman,  go  in  peace ;  the  child 
of  such  prayers  cannot  perish."  Was  the  good 
archbishop  justified  in  making  such  an  unqualified 
declaration  ?  Assuredly  not.  All  that  he  was  war- 
ranted in  saying  was,  that  it  was  not  likely  that  a 
child  of  such  prayers  would  perish.  Monica  had 
the  great  satisfaction  of  seeing  her  son  converted 
and  consecrating  his  rare  powers  to  the  service  of 
the  church;  but  suppose  she  had  died  without  this 
sight,  as  many  godly  mothers  have  done  before  and 
since,  would  nothing  have  come  from  her  prayers? 
Would  they  have  been  offered  up  in  vain? 

Is  prayer  for  the  conversion  of  others  infallibly 
answered?  In  a  true  sense  it  is.  It  is  answered 
to  the  extent  of  securing  on  behalf  of  those  prayed 
for  power  sufficient  unto  conversion;  but  that  it  is 
not  always  answered  to  the  extent  of  realizing  con- 
version goes  without  the  saying.  To  answer  such 
prayers  infallibly  would  mean  that  God  would  bear 
down  upon  man,  forcing  him  to  yield.  And,  ap- 
parently, that  is  what  many  expect  him  to  do  in 
answer  to  their  prayers  for  others.  They  look  upon 
the  issue  as  a  matter  of  strength  between  God  and 
the  resisting  soul ;  and  so  they  conclude  that  in  the 
end  the  less  powerful  must  surrender.  Such  a  view 
shows  a  lack  of  proper  respect  for  the  sanctities  of 
the  soul  which  God  has  made  in  his  own  image. 
To  ask  him  to  do  violence  to  man's  free  nature  is 


io6  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

to  ask  him  to  do  despite  to  the  work  of  his  own 
hands. 

The  only  power  which  God  can  exert  upon  a 
moral  being  is  suasive.  Goodness  cannot  conquer 
by  compulsion.  Man  cannot  be  made  willing.  Mere 
omnipotence  may  sweep  all  outward  opposition  be- 
fore it,  like  a  cyclone,  but  divine  moral  power  must 
wait  upon  man's  choice,  and  can  conquer  only  by 
securing  it.  And  prayer,  as  a  power  working  within 
the  sphere  of  moral  influence,  is  not  an  appeal  to 
God's  omnipotence,  but  to  the  moral  power  that  he 
is  able  to  exert  over  his  children. 

That  something  is  done  in  every  instance  in 
answer  to  prayer  for  the  conversion  of  others,  there 
is  no  room  whatever  to  doubt.  The  child  who  is 
prayed  for  has  certainly  an  advantage  over  other 
children.  A  barrier  has  been  placed  in  the  way  of 
his  self-destruction;  a  powerful  influence  has  been 
set  in  motion  to  lead  him  into  the  upward  path. 
How  much  is  done  we  never  can  know,  for  the 
inner  sanctuary  of  another's  soul  is  something  which 
is  kept  closed  from  mortal  view.  There  are  secret, 
mysterious  movements  upon  the  spirit  of  man  which 
are  beyond  our  power  to  trace,  and  of  which  there 
is  often  no  outward  sign.  We  have  to  take  God's 
interest  and  activity  upon  trust,  never  doubting  that 
something  goes  out  from  him  into  others  in  answer 
to  prayer — something  that  is  helpful,  something 
that  restrains  from  wrongdoing  and  constrains  to 
rightdoing,  something  powerfully  affecting  the  will 
although  never  overpowering  it.    No  prayer  offered 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS        107 

up  by  one  human  soul  on  behalf  of  another  human 
soul  is  ever  lost. 

Many  parents  who  have  prayed  unceasingly  for 
the  conversion  of  a  wayward  child  die  without  see- 
ing any  result  to  their  praying.  Were  their  prayers 
unanswered  ?  A  thousand  times  No  !  Every  prayer 
brought  to  bear  on  their  loved  one  some  measure 
of  saving  influence.  In  all  their  weary  waiting  they 
entered  into  sympathy  with  the  sorrowing  God,  and 
he  with  them.  Their  hearts  beat  in  unison  with  his. 
They  accomplished  much,  even  if  the  ultimate  end 
was  not  gained.  The  wall  of  opposition  was  weak- 
ened, and  at  any  time  it  may  yet  give  way.  The 
God  whose  co-partners  they  were  is  not  yet  through 
with  their  child — never  will  be  through  with  him 
so  long  as  he  refuses  to  yield  in  free  surrender  to 
the  power  of  his  all-redeeming,  all-conquering  love. 

6.    Untapped  Resources. 

"Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  beseech  my  Father, 
and  he  shall  even  now  send  me  more  than  twelve 
legions  of  angels?"  (Matt.  26.  53).  Jesus  as  a 
praying  man  felt  that  behind  him  were  the  bound- 
less resources  of  the  invisible  realm.  But  in  this 
instance  he  would  not  call  upon  them ;  he  would  do 
nothing  for  mere  display  or  for  temporary  success 
• — nothing  that  would  produce  the  impression  that 
he  was  depending  for  the  triumph  of  his  kingdom 
upon  other  than  spiritual  forces.  He  showed  a 
reserve,  and  a  hiding  of  power  suggestive  of  Deity. 

This  declaration  of  his  was  called  forth  by  the 


io8  THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

impulsive  action  of  Peter,  who,  in  defending  him 
from  the  rabble  led  by  Judas,  flourished  his  sword 
and  cut  off  the  ear  of  the  servant  of  the  high  priest. 
Jesus  told  him  to  return  his  sword  into  its  scab- 
bard, because  a  kingdom  which  was  not  of  this 
world  had  no  use  for  such  carnal  weapons.  And 
as  for  deliverance  from  the  present  peril,  he  could 
pray  to  the  Father  and  he  would  instantly  order  to 
his  side  a  host  of  angelic  defenders  who  could 
annihilate  the  traitor  and  his  band.  However,  he 
would  not  seek  the  help  of  men  nor  of  angels,  not 
because  of  his  forbearance  and  resignation,  but 
because  he  had  confidence  in  God,  and  had  sublime 
faith  touching  his  kingdom.  He  would  not  weaken 
the  power  of  his  appeal  by  depending  upon  worldly 
or  occult  forces.  His  weapons  were  to  be  spiritual, 
and  his  kingdom  was  to  consist  in  his  rule  over 
souls  freely  surrendered  to  his  sway. 

Here  is  a  lesson  for  the  church  as  the  appointed 
agent  through  which  the  Kingdom  is  to  come.  She 
is  not  to  depend  for  success  upon  outside  forces.  She 
is  not  to  draw  too  eagerly  or  too  largely  upon  those 
things  that  can  give  her  only  temporary  and  spec- 
tacular triumphs.  Such  triumphs  may  be  bought 
too  dear.  Jesus  saw  how  prone  his  people  would 
be,  in  view  of  the  slow  and  painful  evolution  of 
his  kingdom,  to  lose  faith  in  the  potency  of  spiritual 
forces,  and  to  indulge  the  hope  that  some  outward 
display  of  power  or  glory  might  do  more  to  bring 
about  the  final  triumph  of  the  Kingdom  than  the 
moral  power  lodged  in  the  cross  is  capable  of  ac- 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS       109 

complishing.  To  save  them  from  descending  to 
that  low  plane  he  refused  to  summon  heaven's 
reserves  to  his  aid  in  the  hour  of  his  greatest  weak- 
ness and  need. 

The  reason  why  Jesus  did  not  summon  his  celes- 
tial allies  was  because  he  had  God,  and  he  wanted 
his  restraint  to  show  that  in  God  he  had  all  that 
was  necessary.  What  he  had  we  have.  To  every 
praying  soul  the  resources  of  the  spiritual  world, 
upon  which  he  must  ultimately  fall  back,  are  open. 
Here  is  something  of  which  no  one  has  a  monopoly. 
The  fountain  of  life  and  power  in  God  is  available 
to  all  alike.  The  measure  of  its  greatness  is  beyond 
our  utmost  thought.  What  God  can  do  for  us  we 
have  never  really  tested.  What  he  has  done  for 
us  is  nothing  compared  to  what  he  is  able  to  do. 
His  reserve  power  is  greater  than  anything  we  can 
ever  know.  We  soon  get  to  the  end  of  man;  we 
can  never  get  to  the  end  of  God, 

*'Lo,  these  are  but  the  outskirts  of  his  ways:  \ 

And  how  small  a  whisper  do  we  hear  of  him! 
But  the  thunder  of  his  power  who  can  understand?" 

(Job  26.  14.) 

As  a  father  holds  all  his  possessions  for  his  chil- 
dren, so  all  that  God  has  is  held  for  us.  He  throws 
open  the  doors  of  his  treasure  house,  saying,  "All 
that  is  mine  is  thine."  He  keeps  everything  ready 
and  sends  our  supplies  in  answer  to  the  cry  of 
faith,  and  the  call  of  necessity.  Nothing  is  too 
hard  for  him  to  do  for  us.  To  distrust  his  re- 
sources is  to  dishonor  his  name. 


no  THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

7.   The  Absoluteness  of  the  Spiritual. 

"All  things  whatsoever"  (Matt.  21.  22).  These 
words,  like  all  the  universals  of  prayer,  have  been 
taken  as  a  blank  schedule  which  we  are  permitted 
to  fill  up  to  suit  our  need,  with  no  restriction  what- 
ever put  upon  our  desires;  or  as  a  check  drawn 
upon  the  Bank  of  Heaven  which  God  will  honor, 
for  any  amount,  whensoever  it  is  presented.  They 
have  been  interpreted  so  as  to  give  a  literal  and 
mechanical  presentation  of  a  spiritual  truth,  and  by 
ignoring  the  proviso,  which  always  underlies  the 
most  absolute  promises,  have  pressed  a  precious 
truth  beyond  the  limit  of  possible  verification  in 
experience.  What,  then,  is  to  be  done  to  make 
this  promise  tally  with  experience?  Must  we  pare 
it  down  because  it  is  in  itself  too  large?  By  no 
means!  What  we  must  do  is  to  reinterpret  it,  so 
as  to  make  it  harmonize  with  the  facts  of 
experience. 

The  difference  must  never  be  overlooked  between 
God's  treatment  of  prayer  for  temporal  and  for 
spiritual  blessings.  Temporal  blessings  are  never 
promised  by  him  absolutely;  spiritual  blessings  are. 
He  may  have  good  and  valid  reasons  for  withhold- 
ing the  one;  he  can  have  no  possible  motive  or 
interest  in  withholding  the  other.  The  material  is 
always  relative;  the  spiritual  is  absolute.  Hence 
the  absoluteness  that  belongs  to  prayer  relates  to 
the  spiritual,  and  to  the  spiritual  alone. 

An  enlightened  Christian  will  never,  therefore, 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS       iii 

ask  for  any  temporal  blessing  without  conditions. 
If  his  prayer  is  directed  to  the  securing  of  some 
material  benefit,  it  will  be  for  the  purpose  of  work- 
ing out  some  spiritual  end.  If  he  prays  for  health, 
he  will  desire  that  it  may  be  given  only,  provided 
that  it  will  make  for  his  highest  good,  by  his  healed 
body  becoming  the  servant  of  a  renewed  soul;  if 
he  asks  for  wealth,  he  will  ask  for  it  only  on  the 
ground  that  its  bestowment  will  not  be  hurtful  to 
himself  or  to  others,  or  stand  in  the  way  of  a 
greater  blessing.  When  used  for  spiritual  ends, 
and  only  when  so  used,  are  material  things  in  their 
proper  place  in  the  divine  scheme  of  life;  and  only 
when  meant  to  be  so  used  are  they  legitimate  ob- 
jects for  request  in  prayer.  In  spiritual  ends  ma- 
terial interests  are  to  be  swallowed  up  and  lost. 
Many  who  shrink  from  prayer  which  takes  the  form 
of  supplication  for  material  advantages  would  have 
all  their  misgivings  set  to  rest  if  only  they  recog- 
nized the  fact  that  the  material  is  subsidiary  to  the 
spiritual;  that,  while  it  is  true  that  God's  concern 
for  man  includes  his  physical  welfare,  "it  belongs 
to  his  essentially  moral  nature,"  as  Canon  Liddon 
has  said,  "to  give  the  precedence  to  the  least  moral 
interests  over  the  highest  material  interests." 

There  are  things  which  God  exalts  above  our 
temporal  interests;  there  are  things  which  he  de- 
sires more  than  our  health  or  happiness,  or  worldly 
prosperity.  With  him  outward  things  are  never 
supreme  or  absolute.  It  is  only  when  we  rise  into 
the  spiritual  realm  that  we  come  into  a  circle  of 


112  THE  PLACE   OF  PRAYER 

things  where  all  limitations  fall  away,  and  man 
touches  the  Infinite  and  the  Eternal.  Within  that 
sphere  prayer  never  returns  void. 

When  a  poverty-stricken  soul  prays  for  the  full- 
ness of  the  Spirit;  when  a  feeble  soul  prays  for 
greater  power  for  better  service;  when  a  care- 
tossed  soul  prays  for  rest;  when  a  sorrowing  soul 
prays  for  comfort ;  when  a  darkened  soul  prays  for 
light;  when  a  restive  soul  prays  for  patience,  or  a 
beaten  soul  prays  for  victory,  they  all  pray  for 
things  absolutely  in  harmony  with  God's  will  and 
desire.  He  can  have  no  interest  whatever  in  keep- 
ing back  any  of  these  blessings  for  a  single  moment. 
Being  to  their  advantage,  they  are  always  given 
when  sought. 

It  is  in  the  spiritual  rather  than  in  the  material 
world  that  prayer  has  its  chief  sphere  of  action. 
The  benefits  which  it  brings  are  generally  subjec- 
tive rather  than  objective.  They  are  not  things 
which  can  be  seen  and  handled.  They  are  spiritual 
treasures,  and  constitute  the  white  stone,  the  sig- 
nificance of  which  no  man  knoweth  save  he  that 
receiveth  it.  Answers  to  prayer  are  often  matters 
of  personal  conviction  and  experience.  The  pray- 
ing soul  sees  God's  hand  where  pther.S-_.da...rL0t. 
Although  he  has  no  demonstrable  proof  to  give,  he 
is  convinced  that  God  has  heard  and  helped  him. 
When  *'in  the  lower  sphere,  where  men  ask  tem- 
poral blessings  and  where  God  works  by  visible 
agents,"  there  is  often  bitter  disappointment;  but 
when  it  is  sought  in  the  higher  sphere  in  which  he 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS       113 

works  by  direct  action  upon  the  soul,  disappoint- 
ment is  impossible;  for  the  final  ends  of  prayer 
being  moral,  anyone  who  in  praying  rises  to  the 
spiritual  sphere,  asking  only  for  spiritual  blessings, 
may  be  fully  assured  that  his  prayer  has  entered 
into  the  divine  will,  and  that  holding  it  there,  while 
faithfully  supplying  the  prescribed  conditions,  all 
that  he  desires  shall  find  abundant  fulfillment. 

8.  A  Wrong  Conception  of  Prayer. 

"The  kingdom  of  heaven  sufiFereth  violence,  and 
the  violent  take  it  by  force"  (Matt.  ii.  12).  These 
words  have  generally  been  taken  to  support  the 
idea  that  man  is  to  keep  ^'battering  the  gates  of 
heaven  with  storms  of  prayer"  until  God  capitu- 
lates and  gives  him  what  he  asks.  Nothing  could 
be  further  from  the  Lord's  thought. 

To  understand  the  meaning  of  these  words  we 
must  look  at  them  in  their  contextual  setting.  The 
brief  and  stirring  ministry  of  John  had  inaugurated 
a  popular  movement  in  favor  of  Jesus.  The  people 
were  aflame  with  enthusiasm,  having  transferred  to 
him  all  their  Messianic  hopes.  They  expected  that 
any  day  he  might  assert  his  royal  prerogatives  and 
set  up  his  kingdom.  They  stood  prepared  to  flock 
around  his  standard,  and  acclaim  him  their  king. 
But  as  the  days  passed  they  became  impatient. 
They  could  see  no  reason  why  he  should  longer 
refuse  to  declare  himself.  Further  delay  they  could 
not  brook,  and  in  the  heat  of  their  impatience  they 
wished  to  bring  things  to  a  crisis  at  once.    Failing 


114  THE   PLACE   OF  PRAYER 

to  understand  the  nature  of  the  kingdom  which  he 
had  come  to  establish,  they  thought  that  it  could 
be  taken  by  violence.  Afterward  when  they  caught 
a  glimpse  of  its  real  character  they  sought  to 
destroy  it  by  violence;  and  instead  of  seeking  to 
take  him  by  force  and  make  him  a  king,  they  cried, 
"Away  with  him!     Crucify  him!" 

The  violence  referred  to  in  our  text  Is  not,  there- 
fore, something  to  be  commended,  but  something  to 
be  condemned;  not  something  which  we  are  to 
follow,  but  something  which  we  are  to  shun.  It 
is  resorted  to  only  by  blind  and  misguided  zealots 
who  discard  the  power  of  truth.  So,  instead  of 
exclaiming  with  Ambrose,  "O  blessed  violence!" 
we  should,  rather,  exclaim,  ''O  unseemly  violence !" 

Nor  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to  be  taken  by 
violence  in  the  sense  understood  by  those  who  cling 
to  the  conventional  interpretation  of  the  text.  It 
is  an  entire  perversion  of  our  Saviour's  teaching 
that  leads  anyone  to  think  that  God  is  tardy,  that  he 
gives  grudgingly,  that  much  strenuous  conflict  with 
him  is  needed  to  wring  a  reluctant  blessing  from  his 
hand.  It  is  difficult  to  see  how  such  a  conception 
of  God  could  have  prevailed.  Jesus  taught  the 
willingness  of  God,  and  encouraged  men  to  believe 
that  he  is  more  ready  to  give  than  they  are  to  re- 
ceive; that  prayers  and  tears  are  not  required  to 
move  his  heart,  and  turn  him  to  his  children,  and 
that  they  have  no  need  to  storm  his  strong  castle, 
because  its  gates  instead  of  being  barred  are  for- 
ever open.     As  Archbishop  Trench  aptly  remarks. 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS       115 

"We  must  not  conceive  of  prayer  as  an  overcoming 
of  God's  reluctance,  but  as  a  laying  hold  of  his 
highest  willingness."  The  case  of  Jacob  is  often 
referred  to  as  an  illustration  of  overcoming  God  by 
strong  insistence,  but  all  that  the  self-willed  Jacob 
got  by  his  wrestling  with  God  was  a  shrunken 
sinew  and  lifelong  lameness.  It  was  only  when  he 
ceased  to  wrestle  and  clung  in  weakness  that  he 
became  the  prince  of  God  and  prevailed.  Not  as 
the  conqueror  of  God,  but  as  the  conquered  of  God; 
not  as  a  victorious  warrior,  but  as  a  trustful  child, 
does  anyone  enter  the  Kingdom  of  promise. 

But  while  God  does  not  require  our  urgent  en- 
treaty to  exhort  favor  from  his  hand,  we  need  the 
prolonged  exercise  of  prayer  to  deepen  our  interest, 
and  to  bring  us  into  a  condition  in  which  God  can 
bless  us  and  use  us.  Says  William  Law,  "If  God 
does  not  give  to  us  at  our  first  asking,  if  he  only 
gives  to  those  who  are  importunate,  it  is  not  be- 
cause our  prayers  make  any  change  in  him,  but 
because  our  importunity  has  made  a  change  in  our- 
selves, and  rendered  us  proper  objects  of  God's 
gifts  and  graces." 

Wrestling  is  indeed  needed,  but  it  is  to  be  with 
ourselves  and  not  with  God.  We  need  many  a 
tussle  with  our  wayward  hearts  to  crush  the  im- 
pulses of  the  flesh,  and  to  put  down  the  rising  of 
selfishness  and  vainglory.  We  need  much  "holy 
wrestling  in  the  night"  with  our  too  reluctant  wills 
to  overcome  our  natural  obduracy  and  deadness, 
and  to  bring  our  motives  and  deeds  into  the  light 


ii6  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

of  the  Divine  Presence,  and  ourselves  into  com- 
plete surrender  to  the  divine  will.  The  moment 
that  condition  is  reached  the  flood  gates  of  divine 
grace  are  opened  and  the  full  tide  of  heavenly 
blessing  flows  into  the  praying  heart,  and  thence 
out  of  that  heart  into  the  life  of  the  world. 

What  of  those  saints  who  spend  much  time  in 
vigils  and  in  soul-travail?  Are  they  to  be  our 
models  ?  Take,  for  example,  Whitefield,  who  spent 
whole  days  and  weeks  prostrate  on  the  ground  in 
silent  and  vocal  prayer;  or  John  Foster,  who  used 
to  spend  long  nights  in  his  chapel,  "absorbed  in 
spiritual  exercises,"  pacing  to  and  fro  in  the  dis- 
quietude of  his  spirit,  until  his  restless  feet  had 
worn  a  little  track  in  the  isle ;  or  of  David  Brainerd, 
whose  anguish  upon  occasions  was  so  great  that  he 
said,  "My  joints  were  loosed;  the  sweat  ran  down 
my  face  and  body  as  if  it  would  dissolve."  Are 
experiences  such  as  these  normal  and  healthy- 
minded?  We  think  not.  Gladly  do  we  turn  from 
them  to  the  sane  and  wholesome  view  of  Spurgeon, 
who,  when  told  of  a  Christian  friend,  who  had 
spent  three  hours  upon  his  knees  pleading  with  God 
for  a  certain  blessing,  remarked :  "I  could  not  do  it, 
even  if  my  eternity  depended  upon  it.  Besides,  if 
I  go  to  the  bank  with  a  check,  whajt  do  I  wait 
loafing  around  the  premises  for  when  I  have  got 
my  money?  The  fact  is,^^h)ng  prayers  are  often 
the  result  of  unbeHef." 

The  attitude  toward  God  which  these  morbid  and 
highly  wrought  experiences  imply  is  essentially  un- 


A 


V 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS       117 

christian.  It  is  far  removed  from  the  high  ground 
of  privilege  which  the  Christian  ought  to  occupy. 
It  is  an  attitude  which  is  possible  only  when  Old 
Testament  ideas  regarding  prayer  have  been  pro- 
jected into  the  present.  The  New  Testament  brings 
us  into  a  totally  different  atmosphere.  We  are  to 
pray  to  a  loving  Father,  with  whom  it  is  not  hard 
to  gain  an  audience.  The  declaration,  "Verily  thou 
art  a  God  that  hidest  thyself,"  is  not  a  Christian 
/  conception.  Does  a  father  hide  himself  from  his 
child?  And  when  found  is  he  hard  to  persuade? 
Where  the  Old  Testament  saints  saw  a  cloud  on 
God's  face  New  Testament  saints  see  a  smile.  While 
the  Old  Testament  saints  prayed  long  in  uncer- 
tainty and  agony,  the  New  Testament  saints  linger 
in  the  Father's  presence  because  they  delight  in 
his  fellowship.  In  the  joy  of  communion  the  flight 
of  time  is  forgotten,  and  instead  of  waiting  patiently 
for  the  Lord,  with  a  certainty  sweet  and  comforting 
they  wait  unweariedly  upon  him. 

9.   God's  Desire  for  Our  Prayers, 

"While  he  was  yet  afar  off,  his  father  saw  him, 
and  was  moved  with  compassion,  and  ran,  and  fell 
on  his  neck,  and  kissed  him  much"  (Luke  15.  20). 

These  words  present  a  picture  of  the  warmth  of 
welcome  which  man  receives  when  he  comes  to 
God,  to  pour  out  his  heart  in  penitence  at  his  feet. 
The  returning  son  may  hold  back ;  the  Father  runs. 
The  impulse  of  the  son  to  return  may  be  new  and 
sudden;  the  Father's  heart  has  all  the  time  been 


Ii8  THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

breaking  on  account  of  his  absence.  He  has  never 
ceased  to  yearn  for  his  home-coming;  he  desires 
his  fellowship ;  he  longs  to  hear  his  voice ;  he  takes 
the  initiative,  seeking  before  he  is  sought ;  his  arms 
are  open  to  receive  him  in  whatever  degree  of  shame 
and  degradation  he  may  return. 

How  seldom  is  the  desire  of  the  heavenly  Father 
that  we  come  to  him,  and  talk  with  him  in  prayer, 
considered  as  it  ought  to  be!  What  a  stimulus  to 
prayer  it  furnishes !  In  the  hour  when  the  con- 
sciousness of  sin  has  brought  a  dreary  sense  of 
separation,  and  the  heart  is  numb  with  pain,  how 
it  would  lift  us  out  of  our  apathy  and  awaken 
within  us  the  impulse  to  pray  were  we  to  remember 
that  if  there  is  no  desire  on  our  part  to  draw  nigh 
to  God,  God  has  a  strong  desire  for  us  to  come 
to  him.  When  we  have  no  desire  to  pray  all  the 
more  need  is  there  that  we  should  pray.  If  we 
have  nothing  else  to  say,  let  us  tell  God  of  our 
want  of  desire;  let  us  talk  to  him  about  our  cold- 
ness and  hardness  of  heart,  and  before  we  know  it 
we  will  have  begun  to  speak  to  him,  and  will  have 
a  realizing  sense  of  his  sympathy  with  us  in  the 
desolation  of  our  estrangement.  The  most  broken 
and  fragmentary  prayer  is  pleasing  to  him.  He 
loves  to  have  us  lisp  our  desires  into  his  ears;  he 
loves  to  have  us  tell  him  all  our  troubles,  all  our 
hopes,  all  our  plans.  There  is  nothing  that  con- 
cerns us  that  does  not  form  a  legitimate  subject 
for  prayer. 

In  cases  of  extreme  suffering  or  nervous  debility, 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS       119 

when  one  is  too  weak  to  pray,  when  the  mind  cannot 
take  hold  of  God,  when  his  face  seems  hid  and  the 
whole  spiritual  world  is  a  blank,  when  leaden  wings 
keep  the  soul  from  soaring,  and  words  will  not 
come,  what  can  we  do  but  fall  back  upon  the  reality 
of  his  presence,  and  trust  in  him  in  the  dark  ?  Much 
as  he  wants  our  prayers,  he  wants  us  still  more; 
and  he  would  like  to  see  us  as  patient  with  ourselves 
as  he  is  with  us.  The  wish  to  pray  is  in  itself  a 
prayer,  and  is  pleasing  to  him.  When  we  are  too 
weak  even  to  think  about  him  he  will  do  our  think- 
ing for  us.  And  when  in  utter  helplessness  we 
sink  into  his  arms  the  clouds  of  doubt  will  scatter 
and  there  will  come  the  glad  surprise  of  knowing 
that  he  is  never  nearer  than  when  we  think  of  him 
as  far  away. 

If  it  is  a  heart-breaking  sorrow  to  a  mother  when 
her  daughter  does  not  give  her  her  confidence,  but 
goes  to  others  with  her  troubles  or  her  happy 
secrets,  how  unspeakable  must  God's  sorrow  be 
when  any  child  of  his  turns  away  from  him,  and 
shuts  him  out  of  his  life!  For  the  confidence  of 
his  children  he  yearns  with  measureless  affection; 
hailing  with  delight  the  first  sign  of  interest, 
the  first  look  of  recognition,  the  first  flutter  of 
returning  love.  Never  does  a  fond  parent  listen 
with  greater  delight  to  the  prattling  of  his  babe 
than  the  heavenly  Father  listens  to  the  feeblest 
accents  of  prayer  from  the  lips  of  his  child.  No 
sweeter  sound  ever  falls  upon  his  ears  than  the 
prayer  of  his  new-born  child.    A  dumb  child  is  to 


I20  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

the  heavenly  Father  as  grievous  a  disappointment 
as  it  is  to  the  earthly  parent.  How  his  heart  must 
thrill  with  joy  when  the  dumb  begins  to  speak! 
"Wilt  thou  not  from  this  time  cry  unto  me,  ^My 
Father'?"  is  a  question  which  he  is  ever  pressing 
home  to  our  hearts.  He  misses  any  single  voice 
from  the  stream  of  prayer  that  rises  to  his  throne ; 
and  he  will  not  be  satisfied  until  intercourse  is 
established  between  himself  and  every  one  of  his 
self-exiled  children. 

One  of  the  chief  encouragements  to  prayer  is 
found  in  the  invitations  to  draw  near  to  God  scat- 
tered so  plentifully  through  the  pages  of  Scripture. 
Accompanying  the  outward  call  in  the  word  is  the 
inward  call  of  the  Spirit  in  the  heart.  From  the 
former  men  can  close  their  eyes  and  ears ;  from  the 
latter  it  is  not  so  easy  to  escape.  The  Spirit  of 
God  often  awakens  a  sudden  impulse  to  pray; 
earth-bound  souls  look  up,  knees  grown  stiff  humbly 
bend,  and  the  soul,  impelled  by  a  sense  of  need, 
finds  its  way  to  the  source  of  help,  and  there  is 
heard  the  answering  cry  of  the  child  to  the  Father. 

For  this  filial  response  to  the  outgoing  of  his 
fatherly  love  God  ever  waits.  When  it  is  said  that 
the  disciples  waited  ten  days  on  God  at  Pentecost 
it  might  be  said  with  equal  truthfulness  that  God 
waited  ten  days  upon  them.  They  did  not  need  to 
wait  until  God  was  ready  to  send  the  gift  of  the 
Spirit;  he  had  to  wait  until  they  were  ready  to  re- 
ceive it.  Whenever  a  soul  turns  to  God  the  light  of 
his  countenance  falls  upon  him,  just  as  the  light  of 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS       121 

the  sun  falls  upon  the  face  of  an  uplifted  flower. 
The  blessing  received  to-day  in  answer  to  prayer 
might  have  been  received  long  ago  if  only  we  had 
opened  our  hearts  as  freely  to  God  then  as  now.  He 
ever  waits  upon  us  that  he  may  be  gracious ;  stilling 
the  hearts  of  the  angel  bands  to  hear  our  faintest  cry ; 
and  when  he  catches  the  first  far-away  note  of  peni- 
tential confession  he  rejoices  as  one  who  has  found 
his  own. 

10.    The  Smallest  Social  Denominator. 

"If  two  of  you  should  agree  on  earth  as  touching 
anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for 
them  of  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  For  where 
two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name, 
there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them"  (Matt.  18.  19,  20). 
Two  is  the  smallest  social  denominator.  It  stands 
for  the  first  step  out  of  individualism  into  collec- 
tivism. It  is  the  beginning,  the  germ,  of  the  social 
life.  When  two  people  unite  in  prayer,  the  social 
life  which  inheres  in  Christianity  has  begun  to 
function,  and  the  nucleus  of  a  church  has  been 
already  formed. 

If  two  shall  agree,  or  symphonize;  if  they  come 
into  secret  accord;  if  their  spirits  are  harmonized 
so  that  they  strike  the  same  note,  anything  that 
they  shall  ask  of  heaven  is  theirs.  The  joint  sup- 
plication of  two  who  are  in  agreement  has  a  special 
promise  annexed  to  it  and  secures  a  special  blessing. 
But  in  this  symphony  of  united  prayer  is  included 
more  than  two  according  human  wills.    It  includes 


122  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

also  the  blending  of  these  according  human  wills 
with  the  will  of  God,  for  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit  that 
has  brought  them  into  accord,  and  their  union  being 
in  the  Spirit  brings  them  into  attunement  with  the 
Infinite. 

The  tendency  to-day  is  toward  cooperation.  To 
accomplish  any  great  undertaking  it  is  necessary  to 
federate  all  the  forces  at  command.  The  growth 
of  the  social  spirit  is  surely  preparing  the  way  for 
the  recognition  of  prayer  as  a  working  force  in 
social  life,  but  thus  far  the  social  value  of  prayer 
has  been  but  faintly  appreciated.  It  is  safe  to  say 
that  the  great  religious  movements  of  the  future 
will  put  a  higher  estimate  upon  prayer  as  a  social 
force,  and  will  endeavor  to  match  imited  effort  with 
united  prayer.  They  will  function  toward  union 
in  prayer  in  new  ways  and  under  new  forms. 
Meanwhile  let  not  the  day  of  small  things  be  de- 
spised; for  if  but  two  shall  agree  at  the  throne  of 
grace  touching  things  of  common  interest,  a  begin- 
ning is  made  toward  the  larger  union  which  is 
sure  to  come. 

The  absoluteness  of  the  word  "anything'*  must, 
of  course,  be  qualified  by  the  proviso — anything  in 
accordance  with  his  name  and  will.  Whatever  two 
believers,  who  are  in  accord  with  one  another,  and 
with  the  divine  will,  ask,  it  shall  be  done,  for  what 
they  ask  can  only  be  for  their  own  highest  good, 
for  the  highest  good  of  others,  and  for  the  glory 
of  God. 

The  reason  given  why  such  prayer  will  find  com- 


Y 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS       123 

plete  fulfillment  is  suggestive:  "For  where  two  or 
three  meet  together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the 
midst  of  them."  Observe,  it  is  not  said,  "There  I 
shall  be,"  but,  'There  /  am."  Jesus  does  not  merely 
join  himself  to  those  who  come  together  in  his 
name;  he  arrives  first  at  the  place  of  tryst,  and  is 
there  to  welcome  them.  How  wrong  is  it  then  to 
pray  for  him  to  come!  His  presence  is  always  to 
be  counted  upon  as  one  of  every  praying  band. 
Strictly  speaking,  his  words  are  not  a  promise  at 
all,  but  the  declaration  of  a  fact.  And  since,  when- 
ever and  wherever  his  people  meet  he  is  in  the 
midst,  it  behooves  them  not  to  pray  for  his  presence, 
but  to  acknowledge  it  and  rejoice  in  it. 

The  presence  of  Christ  in  the  midst  of  his  people 
is  in  itself  the  pledge  of  the  fulfillment  of  every 
hope.  To  the  eye  of  men  they  may  seem  to  be  a 
feeble  folk,  but  with  their  mighty  unseen  Lord  and 
Leader  among  them,  and  for  them,  they  are  in- 
vincible. Praying  in  his  name,  in  which  they  have 
come  together,  praying  to  him  as  present,  praying 
to  him  as  their  risen,  living,  triumphant  Lord,  in 
whom  dwells  all  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead,  and 
through  whom  divine  power  is  mediated,  they  find 
themselves  in  the  presence  of  one  who  can  fill  their 
minds  with  wisdom,  and  their  hearts  with  comfort 
and  strength,  because  to  him  omnipotence  belongs. 

II.  A  Missionary  Prayer. 

"Pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that 
he  would   send    forth   laborers   into   his   harvest" 


124  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

(Luke  10.  2;  Matt.  9.  38).  "Pray  ye  therefore,'* 
namely,  ^'because  the  harvest  indeed  is  plenteous, 
but  the  laborers  are  few.'*  Look  around  upon  the 
whitening  fields,  then  look  up  to  the  Lord  of  the 
harvest,  who  sent  the  Sower,  and  beseech  him  to 
send  forth  laborers  to  gather  in  the  ripening  grain. 
Do  not  ask  him  to  send  for  laborers,  but  to  send 
them  forth  from  those  already  here.  The  oppor- 
tunities of  the  hour  call  to  prayer.  They  cannot  be 
met  without  it.  Opportunity  involves  responsi- 
bility. If  there  is  a  chance  to  reap,  it  is  our  duty  to 
reap.  Those  who  are  themselves  busy  in  the  har- 
vest field  are  the  first  to  recognize  the  utter  in- 
adequacy of  available  resources.  They  see  the 
greatness  of  the  work;  they  feel  its  urgency,  and 
so  they  pause  in  the  midst  of  their  toil  to  pray  for 
reenforcements. 

The  need  for  workers  was  never  greater  than  it 
is  to-day.  If  the  number  of  workers  has  multiplied 
since  Christ's  time,  the  field  has  also  widened,  and 
the  disproportion  is  still  very  great.  In  the  home 
field  there  are  many  waste  places  unreclaimed.  The 
cities  grow  with  great  rapidity,  and  as  they  grow 
the  problem  of  the  "submerged  tenth"  becomes 
more  acute.  Despite  our  wonderful  achievements 
in  the  foreign  field,  there  is  still  only  one  missionary 
to  about  every  100,000  of  the  population.  At  the 
same  time  by  an  unwise  overlapping  of  agencies, 
and  multiplication  of  churches,  we  have  too  many 
workers  in  some  places,  while  there  are  too  few  in 
others.     An  intelligent  participation  in  this  prayer 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS       125 

would  bring  to  an  end  all  that  wicked  waste  of 
power. 

Does  some  one  plead  for  delay  because  it  is  now 
the  seed  time?  To  the  eye  of  faith  seed  time  and 
harvest  blend  into  one.  It  is  always  the  spiritual 
harvest  time.  Results  are  to  be  expected  from  the 
time  the  seed  is  dropped  into  the  ground.  In  the 
Lord's  harvest  field  the  plowman  overtakes  the 
reaper.  Hence  the  need  of  urgency.  There  is 
grain  to  be  reaped  to-day,  which,  if  neglected,  will 
rot  in  the  field.  Therefore,  let  every  one  lift  up 
his  eyes  and  see  the  work  that  awaits  him.  Harvest 
fields  are  within  his  reach  ready  for  the  sickle. 
And  while  he  is  doing  his  own  bit  of  reaping, 
realizing  how  pitifully  inadequate  is  the  supply  of 
workers,  he  will  be  led  to  pray  that  the  One  in 
whose  hands  are  the  hearts  of  self-surrendered  souls 
may  send  forth  a  sufficiency  of  helpers  to  compass 
the  work. 

The  expression  "send  forth"  may  be  more  force- 
fully rendered  ''thrust  forth,"  the  meaning  of  the 
request  being  that  they  be  thrust  forth  from  their 
places  of  ease.  They  are  not,  however,  to  be  thrust 
forth  by  the  compelling  power  of  an  irresistible 
hand,  but  by  the  impelling  power  of  a  newly  awak- 
ened conviction  of  urgency.  The  rendering  of 
Meyer,  "force  them  out,"  is  too  strong.  God  does 
not  force  anyone  into  his  service.  Every  recruit 
is  a  volunteer.  The  most  that  we  are  to  pray  for 
is  that  men  may  be  pushed  out  into  the  harvest 
field  by  the  urge  of  a  heaven-born  passion. 


126  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

But  why  ask  God  to  do  this?  Certainly,  not  to 
interest  him  in  the  work,  but,  rather,  to  get  our- 
selves into  sympathy  with  him  regarding  the  work. 
He  is  desirous  to  see  the  ripe  grain  reaped — to  see 
prepared  souls  harvested  and  brought  into  his 
garner.  He  needs  more  harvest  hands,  and  when 
we  ask  him  to  send  them  we  simply  enter  into  his 
desire  that  they  may  be  sent.  Our  prayer  thus 
unites  us  with  him  in  the  accomplishment  of  the 
very  thing  upon  which  his  heart  is  set. 

But  praying  that  others  may  be  sent  is  vain  un- 
less the  one  who  prays  puts  himself  within  the 
circle  of  his  own  request,  and  is  willing  to  go  if  he 
should  be  called.  When  Isaiah  heard  the  voice  of 
Jehovah  saying,  "Whom  shall  I  send,  and  who  will 
go  for  us?"  he  did  not  point  to  some  other  man, 
saying,  "Send  him,"  but  he  answered,  "Here  am  I ; 
send  me."  For  some  who  already  feel  the  outthrust 
of  a  divine  impulse  this  prayer  may  mean  the 
proffer  of  self.  And  while  there  is  no  need  for 
anyone  to  run  before  he  is  sent,  everyone  should 
see  to  it  that  he  runs  when  he  is  sent. 

12.  Prayer  as  Related  to  the  Immanence  of  God, 

"God  is  a  Spirit :  and  they  that  worship  him  must 
worship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth"  (John  4.  24). 
Jesus  here  clearly  intimates  that  a  new  day  in  the 
religious  development  of  the  race  had  dawned — 
that  the  time  had  come  when  worship  was  to  be  a 
thing  of  the  spirit  rather  than  a  thing  of  external 
forms.     He  assumes  that  the  day  of  ceremonial 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS       127 

religion,  the  day  when  reHgion  should  consist  in 
rituals  and  shrines  and  altars,  is  past;  that  hence- 
forth worship  was  not  to  be  limited  to  temples 
made  with  hands ;  that  the  door  into  the  holy  place 
was  no  longer  to  be  opened  only  by  priestly  hands 
that  kept  the  keys;  that  not  alone  in  certain  sacred 
spots  were  men  to  worship  the  Father,  but  that  the 
spiritual  age  having  arrived  he  was  to  be  worshiped 
anywhere,  being  near  to  all  alike,  and  being  acces- 
sible to  all  alike. 

The  expression  *'God  is  a  Spirit"  is  more  cor- 
rectly rendered  "God  is  spirit";  and  so  it  reads  in 
the  margin  of  the  Revised  Version.  As  spirit,  he 
is  invisible  to  the  eye,  impalpable  to  the  senses,  is 
seen  only  by  the  eye  of  faith,  and  heard  directly 
only  by  his  still  small  voice  within  the  inner  cham- 
bers of  the  soul.  This  lack  of  outward  impression, 
of  audible  communication,  and  of  "a  definite  re- 
sponse such  as  a  person  feels  when  he  gets  into 
relation  with  the  outward  world,  or  to  another 
person,"  is  for  many  a  prime  difficulty  in  connec- 
tion with  prayer.  When  we  commune  with  God  we 
see  nothing  and  hear  nothing;  the  room  in  which 
we  pray  is  apparently  still  and  empty;  yet  the  very 
fact  that  we  do  pray  implies  that  we  have  a  belief 
in  an  unseen  Presence,  even  if  our  awareness  of 
it  be  absent.  And  in  this  we  are  wise,  for  in  the 
spiritual,  as  well  as  in  the  natural  sphere,  the  final 
forces,  while  never  merely  passive,  but  always  ac- 
tive, and  always  seeking  to  make  themselves  felt, 
seldom  come  within  the  range  of  consciousness.  As 


128  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

President  H.  C.  King  has  pointed  out,  "The  con- 
stant pressure  of  the  air,  the  motion  of  the  earth, 
we  do  not  feel  at  all.  We  have  no  sensible  knowl- 
edge of  any  kind  of  the  existence  of  nature's  atoms. 
The  ether  vibrations  are  quite  beyond  the  reach  of 
any  sense."  Thus  in  both  spheres  alike  we  have 
to  walk  by  faith  rather  than  by  sense  and  sensation. 

Because  God  is  spirit  "they  that  worship  him 
must  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth" :  in  spirit, 
"not  as  opposed  to  form,  but  as  opposed  to  mere 
form";  in  truth,  not  as  opposed  to  outward  ex- 
pression, but  as  opposed  to  insincerity  and  unreality. 
According  to  Lyman  Abbott,  "Christ's  language 
condemns  the  spirit  of  ritualism  but  not  the  em- 
ployment of  rites."  It  makes  true  worship  a 
spiritual  exercise,  a  thing  "of  the  heart,  in  the  spirit 
not  in  the  letter;  whose  praise  is  not  of  men,  but 
of  God"  (Rom.  2.  29). 

The  expression  "God  is  spirit"  must  not,  however, 
be  watered  down  to  mean  that  he  is  an  abstract 
principle  or  impersonal  force,  to  be  called  by  such 
vague  names  as  "The  All"  or  "The  Absolute."  He 
is  a  living  Spirit,  a  loving  Spirit;  a  fatherly  Spirit 
with  whom  man  can  hold  conscious  fellowship.  Yea, 
more,  he  is  "the  Father  of  spirits"  to  whom  every 
man  is  kin;  immanent  in  the  life  of  the  world,  yet 
distinct  from  it,  within  it  yet  above  it,  at  once  the 
Universal  Life  and  the  Universal  Father ;  one  whose 
love  is  real,  warm,  and  personal,  one  with  whom 
the  spirit  of  man  can  meet,  and  hold  personal 
fellowship. 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS       129 

And   when   the   human   spirit   meets   the    Infinite 
Spirit  both  come  to  their  own. 

The  conception  of  God  as  immanent  in  the  world, 
which  Jesus  here  gives  us,  helps  to  bring  him  near, 
and  make  him  accessible.  The  God  who  is  im- 
manent does  not  need  to  come  down  to  meet  us. 
He  dwells  in  the  world.  His  presence  pervades 
every  part  of  it.  He  is  its  indwelling  life.  The 
movement  of  his  vital  energy  is  seen  in  every  form 
of  sentient  activity;  the  throb  of  his  infinite  heart 
is  felt  in  every  pulsation  of  animal  and  human 
love.  The  reason  why  he  can  always  be  found  is 
because  he  is  perpetually  near.  Those  only  fail  to 
find  him  who  turn  away  from  him.  As  another  has 
said,  "No  place  is  God-forsaken,  except  the  place 
where  man  forsakes  his  God." 

13.  A  New  Epoch  in  the  Prayer  Life. 

*'And  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  my  name,  that 
will  I  do,  that  the  Father  may  be  glorified  in  the 
Son.  If  ye  shall  ask  anything  in  my  name,  that 
will  I  do"  (John  14.  13,  14).  "And  in  that  day  ye 
shall  ask  me  no  question.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you.  If  ye  shall  ask  anything  of  the  Father,  he  will 
give  it  you  in  my  name.  .  .  .  Ask,  and  ye  shall 
receive,  that  your  joy  may  be  made  full"  (John  16. 
23,  24).    See  also  John  15.  16;  16.  26. 

The  formula,  "In  Christ's  name,"  or  its  equiva- 
lent, "for  his  sake,"  with  which  almost  every  prayer 
is  ended,  is  too  often  used  as  a  sort  of  talisman. 
Rightly  understood,  it  reveals  a  new  revelation  with 


I30  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

Christ,  a  new  method  of  approach  to  God;  or — 
shall  we  say? — a  new  way  of  praying.  Of  this 
high  privilege  of  praying  in  Christ's  name  the  Old 
Testament  saints  knew  nothing.  It  is  a  privilege 
belonging  to  the  new  dispensation.  How  had  the 
disciples  prayed  before  this  time?  Like  all  other 
pious  Jews,  they  had  prayed  in  the  name  of  Jehovah. 
Their  plea  had  been  *Tor  thy  name's  sake,  O  Lord, 
hear  my  prayer"  (see  Psalms  25.  11  to  31.  3;  119. 
21).  "Henceforth"  they  were  to  use  a  new  name — 
the  name  of  Jesus.  This  they  could  not  do  until 
after  his  death  and  resurrection.  While  he  was 
with  them  they  went  to  the  Father  directly;  after 
his  departure  they  were  to  go  to  the  Father  in  his 
name."  "Hitherto,"  said  he,  "ye  have  asked  nothing 
in  my  name."  Henceforth  they  were  to  ask  every- 
thing in  his  name.  In  his  name  they  were  to 
approach  the  Father;  in  his  name  they  were  to 
offer  every  prayer. 

To  pray  in  Christ's  name  is  to  do  more  than  hide 
behind  him;  pleading  his  merits,  adding  his  plea 
to  ours.  The  thought  is  to  be  forever  excluded 
from  our  minds  that  Christ  is  more  our  friend  than 
the  Father,  and  that  through  him  we  are  to  get  a 
favorable  introduction  to  the  Father  before  he  can 
be  won  over  to  our  side  and  answer  our  prayers. 
To  pray  in  Christ's  name  is  to  stand  in  his  place; 
to  pray  as  he  prayed,  as  sons  to  a  Father,  and  not 
as  creatures  to  a  creator;  it  is  to  be  one  with  him 
in  thought  and  desire;  to  speak  as  his  representa- 
tive, and  to  occupy  the  position  before  God  that  he 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS       131 

occupied.  The  term  "name"  stands  in  Scripture 
for  the  person  whom  it  describes ;  hence  to  pray  in 
the  name  of  Christ  is  to  share  with  him  the  glory 
of  his  throne-power.  Says  Andrew  Murray,  "When 
I  go  in  the  name  of  another  I  deny  myself,  I  take 
not  only  his  name,  but  himself,  and  what  he  is, 
instead  of  myself,  and  what  I  am."  In  like  manner 
Dr.  A.  J.  Gordon  represents  Christians  as  "entering 
into  his  person  and  appropriating  his  will,  so  that 
when  they  pray  it  is  as  if  Jesus  himself  stood  in 
God's  presence,  and  made  intercession."  To  the 
same  effect  are  the  words  of  Dr.  James  Denney: 
"To  pray  in  the  name  of  Christ  is  to  present  to 
God  petitions  which  Jesus  will  present  again  in 
our  name,  saying  'Amen'  to  our  prayer." 

To  pray  in  Christ's  name  is  also  to  pray  "in 
Christ's  mind  and  spirit"  (Tholuck) ;  it  is  to  get 
out  of  the  self-life  into  the  Christ-life;  it  is  to  be 
so  ensphered  in  him  that  nothing  is  thought  of, 
nothing  is  asked  for,  that  lies  outside  his  will,  and 
in  which  he  cannot  share.  As  Dr.  George  B.  Stevens 
has  said,  "To  pray  in  his  name  is  to  hold  all  our 
petitions  subject  to  the  spirit  of  his  life  of  supreme 
trust  and  obedience.  When  we  thus  pray  we  ask 
that  all  of  our  prayers  may  be  as  his ;  that  they  may 
be  purged  from  all  self-seeking,  and  may  express 
the  attitude  of  hearts  which  are  in  harmony  with 
God's  will;  and  our  unshaken  confidence  in  his 
providence  and  grace."  When  this  identification  of 
our  wills  with  the  will  of  Christ  has  been  reached 
we  become  "a  holy  priesthood,  to  offer  up  spiritual 


132  THE  PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

sacrifices,  acceptable  to  God  through  Jesus  Christ" 
(i  Pet.  2.  5)  ;  and  our  prayers  being  offered  in 
his  name  are  accepted  as  his. 

14.  A  Tzvofold  Condition  of  Prevailing  Prayer. 

"If  ye  abide  in  me,  and  my  words  abide  in  you, 
ask  whatsoever  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto 
you"  (John  15.  7).  The  word  "if"  implies  an 
alternative.  It  limits  the  answer  of  prayer  to  those 
who  fulfill  the  twofold  condition  which  is  here  laid 
down.  No  one  else  has  any  reason  to  expect  an 
answer  to  prayer.  That  twofold  condition  consists 
in  abiding  in  Christ,  and  having  his  word  abiding 
in  us.  The  force  of  the  Master's  words  evidently 
is,  "If  ye  abide  in  me,  and  as  a  result  of  that  abid- 
ing have  my  word  abiding  in  you,  your  prayers 
shall  be  effectual." 

Those  who  abide  in  Christ  think  his  thoughts, 
get  his  point  of  view,  express  his  desires,  pray  his 
prayers.  Those  in  whom  his  word  abides  have 
their  minds  enlightened  in  the  knowledge  of  his 
will;  their  whole  being,  so  to  speak,  is  saturated 
with  his  words ;  "their  desires,  their  understanding, 
their  affections,  their  wills  all  being  steeped  in 
those  great  truths  which  the  Master  spoke"  (Alex- 
ander McLaren).  By  his  indwelling  word  they  are 
governed  and  directed  in  all  their  inward  motions 
and  in  all  their  outward  actions,  so  that  they  not 
only  live  and  pray  in  him,  but  he  lives  and  prays 
through  them.  When  we  abide  in  him  we  pray  as 
Jesus  would  have  prayed  in  our  place;  when  his 


IN  THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS       133 

word  abides  in  us  we  pray  as  the  mouthpiece  of 
Jesus  himself.  According  to  both  representations, 
the  prayer  offered  is  in  such  absolute  oneness  with 
the  will  of  Christ  that  the  Father  can  afford  to 
give  us  what  we  ask. 

Prayer  that  fulfills  these  conditions  cuts  at  the 
root  of  all  self-will  and  selfish  desire.  It  purifies 
our  motives  and  exalts  our  spiritual  aims.  If  before 
proffering  a  request  we  were  to  pause  and  inquire, 
"Would  Jesus  have  asked  for  this?"  or,  "If  he 
could  speak  through  me,  would  he  ask  for  it?"  we 
would  be  brought  face  to  face  with  the  acceptance 
or  rejection  of  God's  holy  will;  and  it  is  only  when 
his  will  is  joyfully  accepted  that  we  have  any 
ground  for  believing  that  at  the  right  time,  and  in 
the  right  way,  he  will  do  for  us  whatever  we  ask. 

Whittier  remarks  that  "the  simple  heart  that 
freely  asks  in  love,  receives."  To  ask  in  love  is  to 
ask  with  the  yea  of  the  entire  soul.  And  this  is 
generally  a  thing  that  is  reached  by  gradual  growth. 
It  takes  time  to  get  into  the  heart  and  mind  and 
will  of  the  Divine  Friend  and  to  get  his  heart  and 
mind  and  will  into  us.  Such  an  intersphering  of 
personalities  cannot  be  attained  without  much  close 
and  intimate  communion.  The  initial  act  of  fellow- 
ship has  to  pass  into  fixed  habit.  Union  with  him 
has  to  become  abiding  with  him ;  the  planting  of  his 
word  in  the  soil  of  the  heart  has  to  be  followed  by 
its  rooting  and  fruiting  before  the  place  of  power 
is  reached  where  we  can  speak  for  Christ,  and  he 
can  speak  through  us. 


PART  THIRD 

THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER  AMONG 

THE  EARLY  FOLLOWERS 

OF  JESUS 


135 


CHAPTER   I 

THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER  IN  THE  ACTS  OF 
THE  APOSTLES 

The  book  entitled  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  is 
something  more  than  a  record  of  apostolic  activity. 
In  its  deepest  sense  it  is  the  record  of  the  acts  of 
the  risen  Christ  performed  by  the  apostles,  in  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  and  not  of  their  acts 
only,  but  also  of  the  acts  of  the  entire  church,  as 
constituting  the  body  of  Christ;  for  the  humblest 
followers  of  Christ  looked  upon  themselves  as  the 
agents  of  a  higher  Power,  by  which  they  were  con- 
trolled and  whose  behests  they  were  to  carry  out. 
With  that  higher  Power  they  kept  in  unbroken 
connection  through  prayer. 

The  early  church  was  a  praying  church  as  well 
as  a  working  church;  and  it  was  a  working  church 
because  it  was  a  praying  church.  As  soon  as  it 
was  born  it  began  to  pray;  and  it  grew  in  strength 
and  efficiency  as  its  prayer-life  developed.  Through 
all  its  subsequent  history,  down  to  the  present  day, 
it  has  abounded  in  service  for  the  Master  when  it 
abounded  in  prayer,  and  it  has  declined  in  the 
service  of  the  Master  when  it  has  declined  in  prayer. 
Its  prayer-spirit  has  been  a  thermometer  indicating 
its  spiritual  temperature,  revealing  unerringly  the 
degree  of  its  zeal  for  the  things  of  the  kingdom 

137 


138  THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

and  the  measure  of  its  power  in  fulfilling  the  re- 
demptive mission  to  which  it  has  specially  been 
called.  But  prayer  is  more,  much  more,  than  an 
operating  force  lying  behind  the  variant  forms  of 
service,  inspiring  and  directing  them;  it  is  in  itself 
as  much  a  part  of  the  work  of  the  church  as  any 
form  of  outward  activity. 

I.    The  Pentecostal  Prayer  Meeting. 

"These  all  with  one  accord,  continued  steadfastly 
in  prayer"  (Acts  i.  14).  "The  first  meeting  of  the 
ecclesia"  was  a  meeting  for  prayer.  A  group  of 
enrolled  disciples — one  hundred  and  twenty  in  num- 
ber— met  in  a  large  upper  room  and  there  tarried 
in  prayer,  dividing  their  time  between  that  place 
of  assembly  and  the  temple.  They  had  been  charged 
by  their  risen  Lord,  who  "showed  himself  alive 
after  his  passion,"  "not  to  depart  from  Jerusalem, 
but  to  wait  for  the  promise  of  the  Father,  which, 
said  he,  ye  heard  from  me"  (Acts  i.  3,  4).  They 
were  not  specifically  told  how  to  spend  the  time  of 
waiting;  they  were  simply  told  to  wait  until  the 
time  of  divine  fulfillment;  but  without  needing  to 
be  instructed  on  the  point,  the  attitude  in  which 
they  waited  was  that  of  prayer.  For  ten  days  they 
kept  looking  heavenward,  waiting  and  watching  for 
the  Spirit's  advent.  Not  that  they  were  engaged  in 
the  formal  exercise  of  prayer  during  the  entire  time 
of  waiting,  but  that  they  continued  in  the  spirit  of 
prayer,  the  pent-up  fires  bursting  frequently  forth 
in  fervent  supplication. 


AMONG  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS     139 

The  contention  has  sometimes  been  made  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  was  not  poured  out  in  answer  to 
prayer,  but  came  in  fulfillment  to  promise  as  a 
direct,  unmerited  gift  of  God.  That  it  came  ac- 
cording to  promise  as  God's  unmerited  gift  goes 
without  the  saying,  but  that  it  came  in  connection 
with  prayer,  if  not  in  direct  answer  to  it,  is  equally 
certain.  The  words  "they  continued  instantly  in 
prayer"  without  doubt  point  out  the  way  in  which 
they  were  occupied  when  the  blessing  came.  **The 
tree  of  promise  dropped  its  fruit  when  shaken  by 
the  hand  of  prayer."  And  thus,  as  Matthew  Henry 
rightly  infers,  the  promise  of  the  Father,  upon 
which  their  faith  was  based,  did  not  supersede 
prayer  but  quickened  and  encouraged  it. 

The  manner  of  their  prayer  is  distinctly  set 
forth : 

( 1 )  They  prayed  in  unison,  "with  one  accord" — 
with  an  utter  absence  of  discord  and  division.  If 
not  in  mental  agreement  in  all  things,  they  were 
one  in  desire,  one  in  faith,  one  in  hope.  Their 
spirits  and  their  prayers  melted  into  one  Hke  kin- 
dred drops. 

(2)  They  prayed  with  perseverance.  "They 
continued  steadfastly  in  prayer,"  allowing  nothing 
to  divide  their  attention  or  their  interest,  or  to  break 
the  chain  of  their  petition.  They  held  on  to  the 
promise  of  the  Father  with  a  confidence  that  never 
wavered. 

It  was  in  this  attitude  that  the  day  of  Pentecost 
found   them.     "When  the   day   of   Pentecost   was 


140  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

now  come,  they  were  all  together  in  one  place" 
(Acts  2.  i).  In  all  probability  they  had  spent  the 
preceding  night  in  prayer,  and  as  that  eventful  day 
dawned  they  were  still  upon  their  knees ;  and  while 
in  that  posture  they  received  the  Holy  Spirit 
baptism. 

The  day  selected  for  the  Spirit's  advent  was 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  "the  feast  of  harvest,  the 
feast  of  the  first  fruits."  It  was  the  day  of  ful- 
fillment, an  "epoch-making  day."  As  the  disciples 
turned  their  empty  hearts  receptively  toward  heaven 
the  promised  and  expected  blessing  came  suddenly, 
as  God's  blessings  often  do.  It  came  with  outward 
signs  of  wind  and  fire,  symbols  of  divine  energy. 
These  outward  signs  were  tokens  of  an  inward 
spiritual  grace;  the  fire  which  sat  upon  each  brow 
typifying  the  holy  fire  which  burned  within  each 
heart.  Their  inward  being  was  filled  with  that 
divine  power,  without  which  they  had  been  for- 
bidden to  take  up  the  work.  Henceforth  they  were 
to  be  allied  with  the  Infinite.  Their  hearts  were 
to  be  the  Spirit's  dweUing  place;  by  him  all  their 
activities  were  to  be  directed;  clothed  by  him  with 
prophetic  power,  they  were,  each  in  his  own  place 
and  way  to  be  his  "witnesses  in  both  Jerusalem,  and 
in  all  Judaea  and  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost 
part  of  the  earth." 

Upon  this  same  power  the  church  has  always 
had  to  depend  in  the  work  of  saving  men.  And  if, 
since  the  Spirit's  advent,  prayer  is  no  longer  needed 
to  bring  this  power  down  from  above,  it  is  still 


AMONG  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS     141 

needed  to  bring  the  soul  that  negotiates  between 
God  and  man  into  its  possession. 

2.   A  Second  Pentecost, 

"And  when  they  had  prayed,  the  place  was  shaken 
wherein  they  were  gathered  together;  and  they 
were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  they  spake 
the  word  of  God  with  boldness"  (Acts  4.  31).  This 
meeting  for  prayer,  which  was  held  subsequent  to 
Pentecost,  had  for  its  object  the  obtaining  of  added 
power  for  service.  It  was  not  a  protracted  meet- 
ing, but  was  held  in  a  brief  pause  in  the  thick  of 
the  battle  by  those  who  felt  the  need  of  the  Spirit's 
fullness.  They  were  too  well  instructed  to  pray 
for  the  Spirit's  coming;  they  believed  that  he  had 
come  never  to  depart.  What  they  prayed  for  was 
a  larger  infilling,  a  deeper  baptism  of  his  life-giving 
power.  Their  prayer  was  like  that  of  Xavier  in  a 
later  day — "Yet  more,  O  my  God,  yet  more."  What 
had  been  already  given  they  sought  to  obtain  in 
greater  measure,  by  a  direct  act  of  appropriating 
faith.  Nor  did  they  seek  in  vain,  for  as  they  prayed 
the  blessing  came  in  a  wondrous  way. 

The  prayer  they  offered  is  the  first  recorded 
prayer  of  the  infant  church.  Driven  to  their  knees 
by  a  sense  of  helplessness,  "they  lifted  up  their 
voice  to  God  with  one  accord,"  making  their  com- 
mon appeal  to  the  sovereign  power  of  Him  "who 
made  the  heaven,  and  the  earth,  and  the  sea,  and 
all  that  in  them  is."  Their  prayer  is  couched  in 
elevated  language,  borrowed  in  part  from  the  one 


142  THE  PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

hundred  and  forty-sixth  and  twelfth  Psalms.  It 
is  a  remarkable  prayer — instinct  with  the  spirit  of 
adoration,  strong  in  its  grip  upon  God,  full  of 
faith  in  his  overruling  providence  and  in  the  final 
outworking  of  his  purposes  of  grace.  Above  all, 
it  is  a  thoroughly  Christian  prayer,  being  utterly 
unselfish,  not  making  request  for  immunity  from 
persecution  and  danger,  but  asking  for  the  con- 
founding of  God's  enemies,  for  the  strengthening 
of  his  kingdom,  and  for  the  impartation  of  needed 
grace  to  those  on  the  firing  line,  that  their  faith 
might  not  fail,  and  that  through  them  the  word  of 
the  Lord  might  prevail. 

The  shaking  of  the  place  of  assembly  was  sym- 
bolic of  the  movement  of  the  higher  Power  to  which 
appeal  had  been  made.  These  outward  manifesta- 
tions were  not  only  signs  of  acceptance  of  their 
prayer,  and  the  pledge  of  needed  help,  they  were 
also  the  witness  of  the  incoming  and  inworking  of 
a  new  power,  which  each  one  was  to  receive  to  his 
utmost  capacity,  according  to  the  measure  of  his 
faith.  A  fresh  communication  of  divine  power  was 
given  to  all.  'They  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy 
Spirit" — the  specialized  prophetic  gift  of  the  Old 
Testament  thus  becoming  the  common  gift  of  the 
new.  Into  every  one  of  them  entered  a  new  power 
which  enabled  him  to  *'speak  the  word  of  God  with 
boldness,"  telling  the  story  of  the  Christ  who  died 
and  rose  again  with  a  new  accent  of  conviction, 
and  with  a  courage  born  of  faith  in  its  saving 
efficacy. 


AMONG  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS     143 

From  these  early  days  down  to  the  present  every 
increase  of  spiritual  power  and  every  revival  of 
religion  accompanying  it  has  been  preceded  by 
prayer.  A  historical  instance  is  furnished  by  John 
Wesley  in  his  Journal,  where  he  tells  how  a  little 
group  of  Oxford  students  met  for  prayer,  and  adds 
"at  three  in  the  morning,  as  we  continued  instant 
in  prayer,  the  Holy  Ghost  came  mightily  upon  us, 
insomuch  as  overawed  we  fell  to  the  ground.  When 
we  had  somewhat  recovered  from  the  sense  of  the 
presence  of  the  Majesty  on  High  we  broke  out 
with  one  accord  into  the  Te  Deum — "We  praise 
thee,  O  God,  we  acknowledge  thee  to  be  the  Lord." 
From  that  holy  place  Methodism  went  out  con- 
quering and  to  conquer. 

3.  Fellowship  in  Prayer, 

"And  they  continued  steadfastly  in  the  apostles' 
teaching  and  fellowship,  in  the  breaking  of  bread 
and  the  prayers"  (Acts  2.  42).  The  first  converts 
to  Christ  were  not  individualists.  They  did  not 
remain  in  isolation  from  one  another.  They  felt  the 
need  of  the  molding  touch  of  association  in  order 
to  live  the  highest,  completest  life.  It  is  said  that 
they  "were  together" — they  lived  together,  they 
planned  together,  they  prayed  together,  they  worked 
together.  They  were  of  one  heart  and  mind  and 
aim.  They  were  possessors  of  a  common  spiritual 
life  and  participants  in  a  common  spiritual  service. 
Their  fellowship  was  in  the  things  of  the  spirit, 
the  things  that  are  deepest  and  closest.     In  the 


144  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

best  sense  of  the  term  they  practiced  close  com- 
munion. 

Four  things  were  characteristic  of  their  simple 
communal  life: 

(i)  They  continued  as  they  had  begun  in  the 
apostolic  teaching,  sitting  at  the  apostles'  feet,  and 
being  instructed  in  the  deeper  things  of  the  king- 
dom of  God. 

(2)  "They  continued  in  the  apostles'  fellowship," 
participating  with  them  in  the  worship  of  God  and 
the  service  of  man. 

(3)  They  continued  in  "the  breaking  of  bread" ; 
that  is,  in  the  breaking  together  of  the  holy  sacra- 
mental bread  by  which  their  souls  were  nourished. 

(4)  They  continued  "in  prayer,"  or,  more  cor- 
rectly, "in  the  prayers" — the  use  of  the  plural  form 
indicating  the  fullness  of  their  prayer  life.  It  is  a 
grievous  mistake  to  render  the  words  "they  con- 
tinued in  the  prayer,"  and  to  interpret  them  as 
meaning  that  they  continued  repeating  the  Lord's 
Prayer  every  time  they  met  (So  Dr.  David  Smith). 
Their  prayers  were  not  things  of  set  form  but  were 
the  spontaneous  outflowing  of  overbrimming  hearts. 

In  this  common  life  of  fellowship  prayer  was 
perhaps  the  most  marked  feature.  They  enjoyed 
together  oft-recurring  seasons  of  prayer,  during 
which  the  enveloping  fire  of  the  Holy  Spirit  fused 
their  hearts  into  one.  In  many  respects  they  were 
a  heterogeneous  company.  They  differed  in  race,  in 
language,  and  in  previous  religious  training.  Had 
they  dwelt  upon  outward  or  non-essential  things  in 


AMONG  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS     145 

religion,  they  would  have  fallen  apart.  Their  union 
was  a  thing  of  the  spirit,  and  one  of  the  chief  means 
of  promoting  it  was  prayer.  Those  who  pray  to- 
gether, who  are  burdened  with  the  same  desires, 
and  who  unite  in  asking  the  same  things,  are 
brought  into  the  closest  fellowship.  There  is  no 
more  powerful  social  solvent  than  prayer.  When 
men.  bow  their  knees  to  the  same  Father  all  their 
outward  differences  melt  away,  all  their  estrange- 
ments cease,  and  they  are  led  to  dwell  together  and 
to  walk  together  in  unity.  Whenever  the  experi- 
ence of  the  early,  undivided  church  is  repeated,  and 
the  people  of  God  are  united  in  the  fellowship  of 
prayer,  the  saving  power  of  God's  right  hand  is 
manifested,  and  the  Lord  adds  to  them  day  by  day 
those  that  are  being  saved  (see  Acts  2.  47,  R.  V.). 

4.  Making  a  Business  of  Prayer. 

"But  we  will  continue  steadfastly  in  prayer,  and 
in  the  ministry  of  the  word"  (Acts  6.  4).  The  time 
had  come  when  a  subdivision  of  labor  had  to  be 
made;  for  the  more  complex  life  becomes,  the  more 
has  labor  to  be  divided.  The  first  of  the  growing 
demands  of  that  primitive  religious  society  was  the 
appointing  of  a  new  class  of  officers  to  look  after 
the  temporalities  of  the  church,  especially  the  daily 
ministrations  to  the  poor,  in  order  that  the  twelve 
might  be  kept  free  to  give  themselves  up  entirely 
to  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  church,  namely,  to 
prayer  and  teaching.  Seven  good  men  having  been 
chosen,  they  were  set  before  the  apostles,  who. 


146  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

"when  they  had  prayed,"  laid  their  hands  upon 
them,  consecrating  them  to  the  work.  This  solemn 
act  of  ordination,  now  performed  for  the  first  time, 
had  its  analogue  in  the  Jewish  ritual,  where  the 
laying  on  of  the  hands  was  believed  to  convey 
peculiar  benefits  to  those  entering  upon  office.  From 
a  purely  psychological  point  of  view,  the  laying  on 
of  the  hands  of  praying  men  upon  the  heads  of 
those  who  are  being  set  apart  to  some  distinctive 
work  implies  such  a  concentration  of  energy  as  to 
constitute  a  battery  of  psychic  force;  from  a  reli- 
gious point  of  view  it  has  added  significance  in 
that  it  connects  the  sensitive  self-surrendered  soul 
with  the  original  source  of  power,  bringing  into 
him  a  stream  of  divine  recreative  energy.  It  is  an 
act  in  which  the  human  and  the  divine  blend,  the 
touch  of  the  hand  being  accompanied  with  the  touch 
of  God. 

In  the  present  day  there  are  those  who  are  called 
off  from  the  outward  activities  of  life  to  its  more 
spiritual  activities  as  truly  as  were  the  apostles. 
A  great  host  are  called  to  the  work  of  teaching; 
why  should  not  some  be  called  to  the  work  of 
prayer?  That  some  are  so  called  does  not  admit 
of  doubt.  ''There  is  such  a  thing,"  says  Herrmann, 
"as  elect  souls,  here  and  there,  being  called  apart 
from  the  life  of  action  and  intercourse  to  a  life  of 
prayer  and  contemplation,  as  truly  vicarious  and 
altruistic  as  a  life  of  philanthropy;  for  these  are 
they  who  can  say.  Tor  their  sakes  I  sanctify 
myself.'  " 


AMONG  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS     147 

Sometimes  physical  infirmities  and  limitations, 
by  shutting  certain  people  out  of  life's  busy  scenes, 
constitute  a  divine  ordainment  to  this  form  of 
service,  which  a  Jewish  sage  describes  as  "the 
service  of  the  heart" ;  but  of  tener  the  order  comes 
as  an  inward  call,  which  those  who  hear  should 
hasten  to  obey,  joyfully  foregoing  all  the  prizes  of 
earth,  that  they  may  occupy  the  humble  places,  and 
take  up  inconspicuous  work,  saying,  "To  this  will 
we  give  ourselves  in  the  Master's  name,  working 
out  of  sight,  remaining  unknown  and  unpraised, 
hiding  ourselves  in  the  lives  of  others  as  the  leaven 
is  hidden  in  the  meal,  that  by  losing  our  lives  we 
may  save  them." 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  of  the  twelve  apostles 
who  gave  themselves  up  to  this  general  spiritual 
ministry  only  the  few  who  took  up  the  more  spec- 
tacular work  of  missionary  evangelists  receive  any 
mention  from  the  chronicler  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles.  Yet,  who  shall  say  that  the  influence  of 
those  who  prayed  and  labored  in  secret  was  any 
less  potent  than  the  influence  of  those  who  per- 
formed heroic  deeds  in  the  light  of  appreciative 
publicity  ? 

In  this  twofold  ministry  prayer  may  have  been 
mentioned  first,  not  merely  because  it  is  an  aid  to 
work,  or  because  it  is  in  itself  a  form  of  work, 
but  because  it  is  the  one  part  of  the  spiritual  min- 
istry of  the  church  which  is  most  apt  to  be  neg- 
lected. Prayer  is  in  itself  just  as  distinct  and 
definite  a  way  of  influencing  others  as  teaching,  but 


148  THE  PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

because  it  deals  with  intangible  forces  its  real  value 
is  apt  to  be  overlooked.  Those  who  specialize  on 
prayer  are  in  efficiency  of  service  no  whit  behind 
those  who  specialize  on  teaching.  The  two  forms 
of  ministry  will  always  go  hand  in  hand.  Those 
who  pray  will  minister  along  the  line  of  their 
prayers,  and  those  who  teach  along  the  line  of  their 
teaching;  and  those  who  teach  will  pray,  and  those 
who  work  in  prayer  will  work  in  every  other  direc- 
tion that  may  open  to  them. 

5.   Praying  to  Jesus, 

*They  stoned  Stephen,  calling  upon  the  Lord" 
(Acts  7.  59).  Stephen,  the  first  Christian  martyr, 
in  dying  prayed  to  Jesus.  In  doing  so  he  used  the 
same  form  of  prayer  which  Jesus  himself  had  used 
upon  the  cross.  His  words,  "Lord  Jesus,  receive 
my  spirit,"  show  conclusively  that  he  looked  upon 
his  risen  Lord  as  one  who  had  divine  power,  and 
hence  as  one  in  whose  keeping  his  spirit  would  be 
eternally  safe. 

According  to  the  testimony  of  Pliny,  the_e.arly 
Christians  "were  accustomed  to  sing  among  them- 
selves alternately  a  hymn  to  Christ  and  to  God." 
They  doubtless  prayed  to  him  also  as  to  God. 
Having  been  wont  to  ask  his  guidance  and  help 
when  he  was  with  them  in  the  flesh,  they  continued 
to  do  so  when  he  departed  from  them  into  another 
sphere.  They  never  seemed  to  have  imagined  that 
his  death  could  make  any  difference  whatever  in 
his   relation  to  them.     They  believed   him   to  be 


AMONG  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS     149 

alive,  although  withdrawn  from  sight ;  they  believed 
that  he  had  ascended  to  the  place  of  power  at 
God's  right  hand,  and  hence  was  more  able  than 
ever  to  aid  them  in  every  emergency.  That  they 
should  continue  to  maintain  the  old  attitude  of  de- 
pendence upon  him  was  the  most  natural  thing  in 
the  world. 

The  expression  "calling  upon  the  name  of  the 
Lord,"  which  frequently  occurs  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  and  in  the  epistles,  always  means  calling 
upon  Christ — for  to  Christ  the  term  Kurios  uni- 
formly refers.  The  salutation  of  Paul,  in  his 
first  letter  to  the  Corinthian  church,  includes  "all 
that  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  in  every  place." 
Upon  that  name  the  early  Christians  called  in  every 
circumstance,  never  doubting  that  it  was  a  name  of 
supreme  power.  While  very  little  direct  reference 
is  made  in  the  New  Testament  to  the  offering  of 
prayer  to  Jesus,  the  inferential  significance  of  the 
expression  "calHng  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord" 
seems  to  imply  that  this  was  a  prevailing  attitude. 
Throughout  the  Christian  centuries  prayer  has  been 
made  to  him  continually.  To  the  Christian's  con- 
sciousness he  has  had  all  the  value  of  God.  He 
has  been  to  many  the  spirit's  resting  place,  beyond 
which  they  have  never  thought  of  going;  yet  Jesus 
never  taught  men  to  pray  to  himself,  but  always  to 
pray  to  the  Father,  in  his  name.  But  does  it  matter 
on  which  side  we  find  God,  so  that  we  find  him? 
The  representations  of  his  manifoldness  given  in 
the  terms  "Father,"  "Son,"  and  "Holy  Spirit"  are 


150  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

mere  accommodations  to  the  limitations  of  human 
thought  and  language.  Names  are  not  of  the  es- 
sence of  prayer.  The  essential  thing  in  prayer  is 
to  get  behind  the  name  to  the  Infinite  One  as  a 
living,  loving,  personal  Reality,  and  to  hold  com- 
munion with  him.  He  is  often  found  under 
strange  forms;  he  is  often  addressed  by  strange 
names;  but  whatever  the  form  under  which  men 
worship  him,  whatever  be  the  name  by  which  they 
call  upon  him,  if  they  are  only  sincere  he  "will 
answer  them  out  of  his  holy  heaven  with  the  saving 
strength  of  his  right  hand." 

6.   Prayer  and  Miracle, 

"Prayer  was  made  earnestly  of  the  church  unto 
God  for  him"  (Acts  12.  5).  "Many  were  gathered 
together  and  were  praying"  (Acts  12.  12).  With 
the  early  Christians  prayer  was  the  first  and  last 
resource  in  trouble.  When  hunted  to  cover  by  their 
cruel  persecutors  they  prayed;  when  in  their  hands 
they  prayed.  Allying  themselves  with  the  Infinite 
they  believed  that  anything  might  happen.  And 
strange  things  did  happen.  One  of  the  strangest 
was  the  escape  of  Peter  from  prison. 

The  arrest  of  Peter,  their  puissant  leader,  had 
thrown  the  Christian  brotherhood  into  consterna- 
tion. Fortunately,  although  Herod  the  king  had  no 
scruples  about  putting  him  to  death,  he  had  scruples 
about  doing  so  at  the  time  of  the  passover.  The 
delay  gave  time  for  something  to  be  done.  What 
the  disciples  did  was  to  pray  on  Peter's  behalf. 


AMONG  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS     151 

They  prayed  earnestly  and  unitedly ;  and  while  they 
prayed  the  chains  by  which  he  was  bound  fell 
from  his  hands,  the  gates  were  opened,  and  he  was 
led  by  an  angel  out  of  prison.  As  Peter  himself 
stood  knocking  at  the  gate  of  the  house  where  the 
disciples  were  assembled,  with  strange  inconsistency 
they  could  hardly  believe  that  their  prayers  had 
been  answered.  It  seemed  too  good  to  be  true. 
They  had  evidently  been  looking  for  an  answer  in  a 
different  way.  Perhaps  they  thought  that  the  Lord 
would  soften  the  heart  of  Herod  and  lead  him  to 
relent.  They  did  not  consider  that  God  could  break 
chains  and  open  prison  doors  more  easily  than  he 
could  move  some  hearts.  It  is  often  the  lesser 
miracle  that  astonishes  us  most. 

The  question  of  miracle,  which  is  here  raised,  is 
beset  with  difficulties  many  and  great.  But  if  we 
admit  that  there  is  a  God,  a  miracle  is  at  least 
antecedently  possible.  The  Almighty  cannot  be 
helpless  in  the  face  of  any  difficulty.  Nor  is  there 
anything  to  hinder  him  from  working  in  a  way 
contrary  to  his  ordinary  method.  Speaking  as  a 
scientist  and  philosopher,  Bergson,  in  his  "Creative 
Evolution,"  refers  to  God  as  one  who  is  doing  things, 
and  to  this  world  as  a  place  where  new  and  strange 
things  happen.  Amid  the  flux  and  change  of  human 
life  there  is  a  vital  force  at  work  which  any  time 
may  break  forth  in  strange  ways.  That  force  which 
is  in  constant  exercise  for  the  good  of  man  acts 
freely,  adjusts  itself  to  every  changing  situation, 
and  is  unvanquished  by  any  difficulty.  It  is  sufficient 


152  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

to  every  need,  efficient  to  every  end.  To  believe  in 
its  operation  is  to  believe  in  miracle,  or  at  least  in 
the  possibility  of  miracle.  It  is  to  believe  that  un- 
wonted things  may  be  wrought  by  God  on  behalf 
of  his  children  whenever  their  highest  interests, 
or  the  highest  interests  of  the  Kingdom,  demand 
them. 

The  recognition  of  a  power  behind  all  outward 
phenomena,  to  whom  all  things  are  possible,  is 
called  for  in  any  explanation  that  can  be  given  of 
Peter's  deliverance.  Something  was  done  in  answer 
to  prayer  that  cannot  be  accounted  for  except  by 
the  working  of  such  a  power.  At  the  touch  of  God's 
finger  prison  doors  gave  way.  But  here  is  the  diffi- 
culty— occasions  occur,  and  many  of  them,  when 
prison  doors  refuse  to  give  way,  and  the  bones  of 
God's  saints  rot  within  prison  walls,  in  spite  of 
agonizing  prayers  offered  up  on  their  behalf  through 
weary  years.  O  the  impotence  of  the  prayer  that 
lies  outside  of  God's  design,  and  the  almightiness 
of  the  prayer  that  falls  within  it ! 

But  whether  prison  doors  open  or  remain  shut, 
prayer  has  its  use  in  preparing  for  whatever  God 
appoints.  Did  prison  doors  never  open  in  answer 
to  prayer,  we  would  soon  cease  to  pray  in  the  hour 
of  extremity ;  did  they  always  open,  there  would  be 
no  test  for  faith.  To  trust  in  God,  and  sing  his 
praise  within  unyielding  walls,  may  be  a  greater 
triumph  than  to  trust  him  and  sing  his  praise  when 
the  prison  doors  swing  open. 


AMONG  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS     153 

7.  The  Acceptable  Prayer  of  a  Non-Christian 
Worshiper. 

"Thy  prayers  and  thine  alms  are  gone  up  for  a 
memorial  before  God"  (Acts  10.  4).  This  was  said 
of  Cornelius,  a  Roman  centurion,  who  had  aban- 
doned idolatry,  and  had  become  a  worshiper  of 
the  one  living  and  true  God.  An  earnest  truth- 
seeker,  he  had  in  all  probability  become  ''a  proselyte 
of  the  gate.''  He  is  spoken  of  as  one  *'who  prayed 
to  God  always"  (verse  2).  He  had  broken  loose 
from  the  past  and  had  come  so  far  on  the  right 
way,  and  now  he  prayed  unceasingly  that  he  might 
reach  the  goal.    And  he  did  reach  it. 

While  still  walking  in  the  gray  light  of  the  early 
dawn  it  was  told  him  by  Peter  that  his  prayers  and 
his  alms  had  gone  up  to  heaven,  for  "a  memorial 
before  God."  They  were  among  the  things  that 
God  wanted  to  remember.  One  evidence  that  they 
were  remembered  was  that  Peter  was  sent  to  him. 
There  are  prayers  and  alms  that  God  delights  to 
remember,  and  there  are  those  which  he  wants  to 
forget,  and  to  which  he  sends  no  answer. 

The  combination  of  devotion  and  philanthropy 
must  in  itself  have  been  pleasing  to  God.  The 
alms  of  Cornelius  showed  the  reality  of  his  prayers. 
They  showed  that  he  was  what  he  was  reputed  to 
be,  "a  good  man,"  honest  and  genuine  to  the  core. 
The  prayers  of  such  a  man  God  has  no  reason  to 
deny  or  discount. 

That  God  should  regard  with  favor  the  prayers 


154  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

of  a  partially  enlightened  soul  is  to  many  a  cause 
of  great  perplexity.  They  forget  that  with  him 
there  is  "no  respect  of  persons,"  that  all  souls 
sustain  to  him  the  same  relation,  and  are  to  him 
alike  dear.  They  forget  too  that  it  is  the  state  of 
the  heart  that  God  looks  at  rather  than  the  enlight- 
enment of  the  head,  and  that  he  rejects  the  prayers 
of  those  who  know  his  name  but  possess  not  his 
Spirit,  while  accepting  the  prayers  of  those  who 
are  ignorant  of  his  name,  but  who  possess  his  Spirit. 
It  is  not  the  measure  of  knowledge  that  makes 
prayer  acceptable,  but  the  measure  of  sincerity. 
Strong  faith  may  exist  where  there  is  imperfect 
knowledge,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Syrophoenician 
woman,  who  thought  furtively  to  steal  a  blessing 
by  touching  the  fringe  of  the  Master's  robe.  No- 
where does  a  soul  call  upon  the  All-Father  out  of 
the  deepest  ignorance  whose  prayer  is  not  heard 
and  answered. 

Why  should  we  hesitate  in  saying  that  the  prayers 
and  alms  of  this  emerging  soul,  who  lived  up  to 
his  light,  were  meritorious?  Meritorious  in  the 
sense  of  purchasing  heaven's  favor,  of  course,  they 
were  not,  but  meritorious  in  the  sense  of  being 
essentially  good,  and  of  yielding  God  pleasure,  they 
undoubtedly  were.  The  guidance  sought  was  given 
not  for  his  prayers  but  through  his  prayers.  Peter, 
who  had  himself  been  praying  on  the  house-top  of 
Simon  the  tanner  for  light  and  leading,  was  sent 
to  teach  him;  the  truth  fell  into  an  open  heart, 
and  he  became  the  first  convert  to  Christ   from 


AMONG  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS     155 

among  the  Gentiles.  With  the  conversion  of  Cor- 
neHus,  Christianity  burst  its  Jewish  shell  and 
entered  upon  a  new  era  of  expansion.  That  soli- 
tary praying  pagan,  struggling  toward  the  light, 
became  "a  partaker  of  the  promise  of  Christ  by  the 
gospel,"  and  is  now  represented  by  a  mighty  world- 
encircling  host. 

8.  Prayer  for  Spiritual  Equipment. 

In  the  primitive  church  gifts  of  grace,  which  are 
to  be  distinguished  from  gifts  of  nature,  were  be- 
stowed as  they  were  needed.  These  gifts  were  of 
two  classes — general  and  special,  or  ordinary  and 
extraordinary.  They  were  all  conferred  by  prayer 
and  were  given  for  efficiency  in  the  work. 

(i)  Prayer  for  ordinary  gifts.  "When  they 
fasted  and  prayed  and  laid  their  hands  upon  them, 
they  sent  them  away"  (Acts  13.  3).  Apart  from 
showing  the  preparation  sought  for  in  the  work  of 
evangelism,  these  words  have  value  in  revealing 
how,  at  the  first,  the  church  ordained  their  mis- 
sionaries. They  fasted  and  prayed  and  laid  their 
hands  upon  them.  The  church  of  to-day  would 
have  given  Barnabas  and  Saul  a  banquet,  and  after 
copious  speech-making  and  abbreviated  praying, 
would  have  sent  them  away  to  the  work.  The 
custom  of  fasting  in  connection  with  the  ordaining 
of  missionaries  obtained  long  after  the  apostolic 
age,  but  in  the  present  day  it  is  practically  unknown. 
With  the  passing  away  of  fasting  has  come  the 
shortening  of  prayer.    The  modern  missionary  has 


156  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

the  church  behind  him  in  the  matter  of  financial 
support;  would  that  he  were  as  well  assured  of  its 
spiritual  support.  That  he  is  prayed  for  by  a  few 
devout  souls  it  is  his  solace  to  believe,  but  how 
blessed  his  lot  would  be  if  he  had  the  consciousness 
that  beneath  him  was  the  upholding  power  of  the 
prayers  of  the  entire  church!  It  is  not  without 
cause  that  the  concert  of  prayer  for  missions  has 
been  superseded  by  the  missionary  address  bristling 
with  the  most  interesting  facts  gleaned  from  the 
mission  field.  The  church  has  grown  too  practical 
to  spend  much  time  in  prayer !  Did  she  only  know 
it,  prayer  is  the  most  practical  thing  in  which  she 
can  engage. 

There  is  a  meaningful  touch  given  to  this  brief 
recital  of  the  first  ordination  of  the  missionaries. 
The  church  at  Antioch  having  set  them  apart  by 
prayer  and  the  laying  on  of  consecrating  hands, 
"sent  them  away" — to  which  is  added,  "So  they, 
being  sent  forth  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  went  down  to 
Seleucia/'  opening  there  by  their  preaching  "a  door 
of  faith  to  the  Gentiles."  The  act  of  the  church  in 
sending  them  forth  coincided  with  the  act  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  They  went  forth  as  representing  the 
church,  and  the  Holy  Spirit;  they  went  forth  with 
the  church's  blessing,  under  the  Spirit's  guidance, 
and  clothed  with  the  Spirit's  power.  The  work 
before  them  was  untried  and  difficult,  and  they  felt 
themselves  utterly  unable  to  cope  with  it;  but  up- 
borne on  the  tide  of  divine  energy,  they  were 
carried   along  to   almost   unbroken   success.     The 


AMONG  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS     157 

dynamic  force  which  accompanied  their  message 
enabled  them  afterward  to  say,  "Our  gospel  came 
not  unto  you  in  word  only,  but  also  in  power,  and 
in  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  in  much  assurance." 

The  thing  which  gives  to  the  ordination  of  these 
two  missionaries  special  significance  is  the  fact  that 
it  was  the  inauguration  of  a  world-wide  missionary 
movement  which  is  still  unspent.  That  movement 
was  born  in  prayer ;  it  derived  its  conquering  power 
from  prayer.  And  ever  since  it  has  maintained  its 
pristine  power  just  in  proportion  as  it  has  put  its 
trust  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer.  When  its  repre- 
sentatives have  had  behind  them  a  prayerless  church 
they  have  fallen  back  discomfited;  when  they  have 
had  behind  them  a  praying  church  they  have 
marched  forward  to  victory. 

(2)  Prayer  for  extraordinary  gifts.  "They  sent 
unto  them  Peter  and  John:  who,  when  they  were 
come  down,  prayed  for  them,  that  they  might 
receive  the  Holy  Spirit"  (Acts  8.  14,  15).  Calvin, 
commenting  on  this  verse,  remarks:  "Surely,  Luke 
speaketh  not  in  this  place  of  the  common  grace  of 
the  Spirit,  whereby  God  doth  regenerate  us,  that 
we  may  be  his  children,  but  of  the  singular  gifts, 
wherewith  God  would  have  certain  endued  at 
the  beginning  of  the  gospel  to  beautify  Christ's 
kingdom."  This  is  clear  from  the  contextual  set- 
ting of  his  words.  He  does  not  mean  that  the 
gift  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  imparted  in  some 
measure  to  all  believers,  had  not  been  bestowed, 
but  that  special  and  miraculous  gifts,  which  were 


158  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

needed  in  that  day  for  attestation,  had  not  yet 
been  bestowed. 

The  special  gifts  which  were  given  in  the  form 
and  measure  in  which  they  were  needed  for  present 
use  were  given  in  connection  with  prayer  and  the 
laying  on  of  apostolic  hands.  They  might  have 
been  given  otherwise,  but  they  were  not.  They 
were  prayed  for,  that  their  source  might  be  acknowl- 
edged, and  that  they  might  be  regarded  as  means 
rather  than  ends.  If  made  ends  in  themselves,  and 
ambitiously  sought  after,  as  in  the  case  of  Simon 
Magus,  grave  evils  ensued. 

Heaven  does  with  us  as  we  with  torches  do. 
Not  light  them  for  themselves. 

When  God  gives  to  anyone,  in  answer  to  prayer, 
special  endowments,  it  is  that  they  may  be  used  in 
speciaUzed  forms  of  service. 


PART   FOURTH 

THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER  IN  THE 

LIVES    AND    WRITINGS 

OF  THE  APOSTLES 


159 


CHAPTER   I 

PRAYER  IN  THE  LIFE  AND  WRITINGS  OF 
PAUL 

In  His  Life 

Paul,  who  was  Christ's  chief  interpreter,  and 
who  reflected  in  his  Hfe  the  spirit  of  primi- 
tive Christianity,  puts  a  high  value  upon  prayer. 
His  soul  was  steeped  in  prayer.  All  his  labors 
were  begun,  continued,  and  ended  in  prayer.  He 
prayed  "day  and  night  exceedingly."  Behind  his 
life  of  abounding  service  and  sacrifice,  and  account- 
ing for  it  was  his  hidden  life  of  prayer. 

When  he  met  the  Lord  in  the  way  to  Damascus, 
and  bowed  before  him  in  complete  surrender,  it 
was  said  in  evidence  of  his  conversion,  "Behold,  he 
prayeth"  (Acts  9.  11).  His  Christian  life  was 
begun  with  prayer.  The  first  pulse-beat  of  his 
new-born  soul  was  a  response  to  God;  its  first  cry 
was  a  cry  to  God.  Young  Saul  had  often  prayed 
before  this;  now  he  prayed  in  a  new  and  deeper 
sense.  He  prayed  as  only  a  Christian  can  pray. 
Until  Christ's  love  touched  him,  and  opened  up 
the  fountain  of  the  great  deep  within  him,  he« 
did  not  know  what  true  prayer  was.  From  that 
time  a  new  life  of  prayer  began  to  develop,  which 
went  on  deepening  and  widening  until  the  end, 
fructifying  his  own  experience,  and  making  glad 
the  waste  places  of  human  life. 

When  Paul  was  thrust  into  the  inner  prison  at 
161 

/ 


i62  THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

Philippi  for  preaching  "concerning  the  Way"  he 
did  not  spend  his  time  bewaihng  his  hard  lot,  or 
fulminating  against  the  Roman  authorities,  but  in 
prayer  and  ''singing  hymns  unto  God"  (Acts  i6. 
25).  With  his  back  lacerated  by  cruel  scourgings, 
his  feet  fast  in  the  stocks,  and  his  ears  assaulted 
by  the  ribald  jests  and  taunts  of  the  outcasts  by 
whom  he  was  surrounded,  he  rendered  unabashed 
testimony  to  the  comforting  and  upholding  grace 
of  Christ  by  lifting  up  his  voice  in  prayer  and 
praise.  An  earthquake  interrupted  these  exercises, 
shaking  the  prison  house  to  its  foundations.  Fol- 
lowing the  earthquake  was  a  revival  meeting,  at 
which  the  jailer  and  his  household  were  converted. 
Thus  the  prison  by  being  made  a  place  of  prayer 
became  a  place  of  salvation. 

In  his  defense  before  the  Roman  officer  on  the 
occasion  of  his  arrest  at  Jerusalem,  he  tells  that  as 
he  "prayed  in  the  temple"  (Acts  22.  17)  ;  literally,  as 
he  "was  holding  a  colloquy  with  God,"  he  fell  into 
a  trance,  or  state  of  spiritual  ecstasy,  in  which  he 
saw  a  vision  of  his  risen  Lord,  and  heard  him  say: 
"Make  haste,  and  get  thee  quickly  out  of  Jerusalem ; 
because  they  will  not  receive  of  thee  testimony 
concerning  me.  Depart,  for  I  will  send  thee  hence 
unto  the  Gentiles."  This  was  his  apostolic  com- 
mission, and  it  was  received  as  he  was  praying. 
Prayer  released  him  from  his  bondage  to  the  senses, 
brought  him  into  direct  contact  with  his  unseen 
Lord,  making  him  sensitive  to  his  touch  and  re- 
sponsive to  his  call. 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES   163 

When  Christianity  burst  its  Judaistic  bonds  and 
entered  upon  the  work  of  a  world-wide  conquest, 
the  church  at  Antioch  became  the  center  of  the 
new  missionary  propaganda.  DeUberating  as  to 
what  agencies  should  be  adopted,  *'as  they  minis- 
tered to  the  Lord  and  fasted,  the  Holy  Spirit  said, 
''Separate  me  Barnabas  and  Saul  for  the  work 
whereunto  I  have  called  them.  Then,  when  they 
had  fasted  and  prayed  and  laid  their  hands  on 
them,  they  sent  them  away"  (Acts  13.  2,  3).  To 
the  divine  commission  which  Paul  had  already  in- 
wardly received  was  now  added  the  ordination  of 
the  church,  in  which  act  fraternal  confidence  was 
expressed,  and  in  connection  with  which  prayer 
for  equipment  in  service  was  offered.  In  the 
spirit  and  power  of  prayer  these  first  missionary 
projects  were  conceived  and  carried  out. 

In  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans  Paul  had  expressed 
a  strong  desire  to  visit  the  imperial  city.  He  had 
said,  "God  is  my  witness,  whom  I  serve  with  my 
spirit  in  the  gospel  of  his  Son,  that  without  ceasing 
I  make  mention  of  you,  always  in  my  prayers ;  mak- 
ing request,  if  by  any  means  now  at  length  I  may 
have  a  prosperous  journey,  by  the  will  of  God  to 
come  unto  you"  (Rom.  i.  9,  10).  In  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles,  Luke  records  the  answer  to  that 
prayer.  But  how  different  was  the  way  in  which 
it  was  fulfilled  from  that  which  Paul  had  expected ! 
Having  appealed  to  Caesar,  he  went  to  Rome  as  a 
prisoner  to  plead  his  case;  and  there  he  abode  two 
whole  years  before  receiving  audience  of  the  em- 


i64  THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

peror,  welcoming  "all  that  went  in  unto  him,  preach- 
ing the  kingdom  of  God,  and  teaching  the  things 
concerning  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ"  (Acts  28.  30,  31). 
His  Romeward  journey  was  marked  with  prayer. 
Coming  to  Miletus,  he  sent  for  the  elders  of  the 
church  of  Ephesus,  and  after  giving  them  tender 
counsel  regarding  the  watch-care  which  they  ought 
to  exercise  over  ''the  church  of  the  Lord,  which  he 
purchased  with  his  own  blood,"  "he  kneeled  down 
and  prayed  with'them  all"  (Acts  20.  36).  Later  on, 
when  he  landed  at  Tyre,  he  gathered  the  disciples 
together,  and  as  he  departed,  says  the  chronicler, 
"Kneeling  down  on  the  beach,  we  prayed,  and  bade 
each  other  farewell"  (Acts  21.  4,  5).  In  this  inci- 
dental way  we  see  what  a  large  place  the  ministry 
of  prayer  had  in  Paul's  missionary  labors.  Still 
later,  when  "drifting  through  thie  sea  of  Adria"  in 
a  leaky  ship,  while  the  heathen  sailors  were  vainly 
struggling  to  repair  the  damage  which  the  storm 
had  wrought,  Paul  was  upon  his  knees  praying  for 
the  safety  of  those  who  sailed  with  him;  and  having 
received  assurance  that  his  prayer  had  been 
answered,  he  gathered  the  crew  and  the  passengers 
together  and  exhorted  them  to  be  of  good  cheer, 
because  their  lives  would  be  spared,  even  as  the 
Lord  had  spoken  unto  him  (see  Acts  2^.  25).  What 
a  blessing  unspeakable  to  have  on  board  a  sinking 
ship  a  man  of  God  who  coming  from  the  secret  place 
of  divine  communion  can  speak  with  unfaltering 
assurance  of  the  purpose  of  God's  merciful  will. 
No  sooner  had  the  ship  gone  to  pieces  on  the  island 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES    165 

of  Mileta  than  another  opportunity  came  for  the 
ministry  of  prayer.  Publius,  the  father  of  the 
governor,  lay  seriously  sick,  and  Paul  entering  in 
after  the  manner  of  the  Master,  "prayed,  and  lay- 
ing his  hands  on  him  healed  him"  (Acts  28.  8), 
thereby  testifying  to  the  grace  and  power  of  the 
Lord  whom  he  served,  and  incidently  securing  for 
his  companions  in  distress  many  substantial  favors. 
And  so  through  all  the  details  of  his  life,  from  his 
conversion  to  his  martyrdom,  the  golden  thread  of 
prayer  was  interwoven. 

Prayer  in  Paulas  Writings 

I.   Individualising  in  Prayer. 

"God  is  my  witness,  whom  I  serve  with  my  spirit 
in  the  gospel  of  his  Son,  that  without  ceasing  I 
make  mention  of  you  always  in  my  prayers"  (Rom. 
I.  9).  We  "do  not  cease  to  pray  and  make  request 
for  you,  that  ye  may  be  filled  with  the  knowledge 
of  his  will  in  all  spiritual  wisdom  and  understand- 
ing" (Col.  I.  9).  "And  this  I  pray,  that  your  love 
may  abound  yet  more  and  more  in  knowledge  and 
all  discernment  (Phil.  i.  9).  "We  give  thanks  to 
God  always  for  you  all,  making  mention  of  you  in 
our  prayers"  (i  Thess.  i.  2). 

Paul  had  a  long  prayer  list.  To  be  a  friend  of 
his  waTlo'^e  ffla^e^a~'sii5ject  of  his  prayers.  He 
left  no  one  out.  He  prayed  for  them  one  by  one; 
and  he  doubtless  prayed  for  them  frequently  by 
name. 

Many  prayers  are  too  vague  and  indefinite.   They 


l66  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

deal  in  vapory  generalities.  The  more  earnest 
prayer  becomes,  the  more  definite  it  becomes.  A 
parent  praying  for  the  recovery  of  a  sick  child  does 
not  allow  his  thoughts  to  wander  over  creation,  but 
focalizes  them  into  one  definite  and  reiterated  re- 
quest. A  parent  praying  for  the  conversion  of  a 
wayward  child  narrows  his  prayers  in  the  same 
way.  A  Sunday  school  teacher  who  is  watching 
for  the  flowering  time  in  the  spiritual  life  of  the 
members  of  her  class  will  pray  definitely  for  them, 
taking  them  to  the  throne  of  grace  one  by  one.  A 
pastor  who,  like  the  Good  Shepherd,  knows  his  own 
sheep  by  name  will  pray  for  them  individually,  as 
their  special  needs  come  up  before  him.  And  any 
Christian  who  gives  himself  to  prayer  for  others 
will  be  drawn  out  to  consider  their  special  circum- 
stances; he  will  not  scatter  his  fire  but  will  pray 
for  special  things.  This  will  give  his  prayer  point 
and  power.  Definite  asking  will  bring  definite 
answers. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  things  which  Paul 
asked  for  his  friends  were  spiritual  things.  He 
prayed  that  they  might  increase  in  the  knowledge 
of  the  divine  will,  that  they  might  abound  in  love 
and  in  spiritual  discernment.  He  sought  for  them 
the  best  gifts.  A  great  deal  of  intercessory  prayer 
is  keyed  too  low,  and  it  is  concerned  chiefly  with 
outward  interests.  Many  hasten  to  pray  for  the 
deliverance  of  a  friend  from  the  grip  of  some  fell 
bodily  disease,  and  show  no  solicitude  for  his  spirit- 
ual safety.     They  pray  for  his  relief  from  com- 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES    167 

mercial  disaster,  and  forget  to  pray  for  him  when 
his  soul  is  imperiled  by  the  corrupting  and  ener- 
vating influences  of  commercial  prosperity.  In  his 
praying  for  others  Paul  puts  the  emphasis  upon 
the  inner  and  supreme  things. 

2.   The  Deeper  Answer. 

"And  by  reason  of  the  exceeding  greatness  of 
the  revelations,  that  I  should  not  be  exalted  over- 
much, there  was  given  to  me  a  thorn  in  the  flesh,  a 
messenger  of  Satan  to  buifet  me,  that  I  should  not 
be  exalted  overmuch.  Concerning  this  thing  I  be- 
sought the  Lord  thrice,  that  it  might  depart  from 
me.  And  he  hath  said  unto  me.  My  grace  is  suffi- 
cient for  thee:  for  my  power  is  made  perfect  in 
weakness"  (2  Cor.  12.  7-9).  Paul's  thorn  in  the 
flesh  was  evidently  some  humbling  physical  in- 
firmity, which  was  seen  of  others.  His  thrice 
repeated  prayer  for  its  removal  was  refused.  Every 
time  he  besought  the  Lord  that  it  might  depart  he 
was  promised  something  else.  When  he  prayed, 
''Take  away  this  rankling  thorn,"  the  Lord 
answered,  "I  will  give  you  grace  to  bear  it,  and  to 
profit  by  it."    He  asked  one  thing  and  got  another. 

Was  Paul's  prayer  unanswered  because  the 
specific  boon  which  he  requested  was  denied?  To 
think  so  is  a  mistake.  Looking  at  the  matter  super- 
ficially, he  got  a  blank  refusal;  looking  at  it  more 
deeply,  he  got  what  in  his  heart  of  hearts  he 
desired.  The  formal  request  was  denied,  but  some- 
thing better  was  given. 


i68  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

Paul  as  a  Christian  man  desired  above  all  else 
that  God's  will  might  be  done  in  everything  in  his 
life.  In  that  will  he  was  ever  ready  to  acquiesce. 
In  things  beyond  his  knowledge  he  was  ready  to 
leave  the  choice  with  God;  for  he  believed  that  he 
alone  knew  what  to  give  or  what  to  withhold,  so 
as  to  secure  for  him  the  highest  spiritual  ends. 
While  asking,  therefore,  for  the  removal  of  this 
bodily  weakness,  he  was  offering  the  deeper  prayer 
that  God's  will  might  be  done;  and  in  giving  him 
a  spiritual  blessing  rather  than  a  temporal  one  God 
gave  him  a  deeper  answer. 

"When  we  beg  deliverance,"  says  Leighton,  "we 
are  not  unanswered  if  he  give  patience  and  sup- 
port." Thus  was  Paul's  prayer  answered  when, 
instead  of  the  removal  of  his  stake  in  the  flesh,  he 
received  sufficiency  of  grace  to  enable  him  to  say, 
"Most  gladly,  therefore,  will  I  glory  in  my  infirmity, 
that  the  power  of  Christ  may  rest  upon  me."  His 
prayer  "was  no  doubt  dictated  rather  by  his  anxiety 
for  the  welfare  of  the  gospel  than  by  any  longing 
for  personal  ease  or  comfort"  (J.  E.  McFadyen). 
And  when  he  came  to  see  that  his  infirmity  was  no 
impediment  to  his  work,  if  by  it  he  was  brought  to 
a  deeper  experience  of  Christ's  strengthening  grace, 
he  did  not  merely  submit  to  it,  he  gloried  in  it. 

Many  who  pray  for  the  removal  of  bodily  disease 
are  not  cured.  They  have  to  bear  the  burden  of 
their  infirmity  to  the  end  of  life.  In  spite  of  their 
sincere  belief  in  God's  power  to  heal,  and  in  spite 
of  their  prayers  and  the  prayers  of   others,  the 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES    169 

disease  refuses  to  depart  and  runs  its  course  to  a 
fatal  end.  What  does  this  mean?  Does  it  show 
that  God  has  failed  to  respond  to  the  cry  of  his 
child  in  the  hour  of  his  direst  need?  May  it  not, 
rather,  imply  that  God  may  have  been  better  to  him 
than  his  prayers,  denying  his  surface  petition  that 
he  might  grant  his  heart's  deep  desire  ? 

To  secure  the  highest  good  to  his  children  the 
heavenly  Father  does  not  hesitate  to  deny  the  lower 
for  the  higher.  He  denies  the  stone  that  is  asked 
so  that  he  may  give  the  loaf  that  is  needed;  he 
denies  the  removal  of  the  thorn  that  he  may  bestow 
his  triumphing  grace. 

Pray  on,  sad  heart. 
That  which  thou  pleadest  for  may  not  be  given, 
But  in  the  lofty  altitude  where  souls  are  lifted,  there 
Thou  shalt  find  help  to  bear  thy  daily  lot 
Which  is  not  elsewhere  found. 

(Ella  Wheeler  Wilcox,) 

3.   Desire  and  Prayer. 

"My  heart's  desire  and  my  supplication  to  God 
is  for  them,  that  they  may  be  saved"  (Rom.  10.  i). 

Desire  is  dynamic.  If  unchecked,  it  will  express 
itself  in  prayer.  Paul's  desire  for  the  salvation  of 
his  kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh,  drove  him  to  his 
knees,  and  could  find  relief  only  in  earnest  and 
continued  supplication  to  God  on  their  behalf.  Desire 
and  prayer  are  twins,  born  at  the  same  moment. 

Prayer  is  the  soul's  sincere  desire 
Uttered  or  unexpressed. 


lyo  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

Desires  are  heard  in  heaven.  ''God  hears  us 
sigh,  though  mute."  He  "hears  the  desire  of  the 
humble,"  but  Fenelon  reminds  us  that  while  "to  pray 
is  to  desire,  it  is  to  desire  what  God  would  have  us 
desire."  To  which  sentiment  H.  Clay  Trumbull 
adds,  "No  child  of  God  has  a  right  to  pray  for  that 
which  he  has  no  right  to  desire."  How  needful, 
then,  to  see  that  our  desires  themselves  are  right! 

Whatever  is  good  to  wish,  ask  that  of  heaven; 
And  if  for  any  wish  thou  canst  not  pray, 
Then  pray  to  God  to  cast  that  wish  away. 

The  word  which  Paul  uses,  and  which  is  rendered 
"desire,"  expresses  more  than  mere  well-wishing, 
or  a  good  disposition  of  the  heart.  It  carries  with 
it  the  idea  of  intention  of  will.  It  is  something 
that  seeks  realization — an  underground  stream  that 
seeks  to  come  to  the  surface,  a  heart-wish  that  must 
needs  find  voice.  The  prayer  into  which  it  passes 
is  prayer  in  its  most  distinct  and  urgent  form;  it  is 
free,  familiar,  bold  approach  to  God;  it  is  earnest 
pleading  with  God  after  the  manner  in  which 
Abraham  pleaded  for  Sodom. 

The  thing  for  which  Paul  agonizingly  longed  and 
prayed,  with  the  intensity  of  a  God-begotten  love, 
was  Israel's  salvation.  That  was  the  deepest  desire 
of  his  heart.  He  believed  in  the  possibility  of  its 
final  fulfillment  because  God  had  given  him  the 
heart  to  pray  for  it.  Hence  we  do  not  wonder  at 
him  expressing  his  conviction  that  "all  Israel  shall 
be  saved."     It  was  the  inspiration  of  this  mighty 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES    171 

hope  that  kept  him  upon  his  knees,  by  giving  him 
the  assurance  that  his  outbreathed  desire  was  in 
harmony  with  the  mind  and  purpose  of  God. 

4.   Working  in  Prayer. 

"Epaphras,  who  is  one  of  you,  a  servant  of  Christ, 
saluteth  you,  always  laboring  fervently  for  you  in 
prayers"  (Col.  4.  12).  The  Revised  Version  reads, 
''always  striving  for  you" ;  that  is,  striving  earnestly 
like  a  combatant  in  the  pubHc  games.  The  most 
strenuous  forthputting  of  effort  is  indicated. 

Epaphras  was  one  of  the  minor  characters  among 
the  disciples.  We  think  of  him  as  modest  and 
shy,  destitute  of  the  gift  of  oratory,  and  occupying 
an  inconspicuous  place  in  the  councils  of  the  church. 
In  all  probability  it  was  said  of  him  that  he  was  not 
much  of  a  worker.  If  Paul  ever  heard  a  whisper  of 
such  a  complaint  he  here  corrects  it  by  saying, 
"Epaphras  is  a  worker,  a  great  worker;  he  works 
mightily  in  prayer ;  while  others  pray  in  working  he 
works  in  praying."  The  Latin  proverb,  Lahore  est 
or  are,  is  often  used  to  cover  or  excuse  shortcomings 
in  the  prayer-life.  It  contains  a  great  truth;  but 
its  converse  "to  pray  is  to  work,"  is  equally  true. 
They  also  work  who  only  kneel  and  pray. 

Work  shall  be  prayer  if  all  is  wrought 

As  thou  wouldst  have  it  done, 
And  prayer  by  Thee  inspired  and  taught 

Itself  with  work  is  one. 

"Prayer,"  says  Liddon,  "is  religion  in  action." 
It  is  "a  distinct,  unique,  elemental  power  in  the 


172  THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

spiritual  universe,  as  pervasive  and  constant  as  the 
great  occult  powers  of  nature"  (Austen  Phelps). 
"When  I  pray  for  a  man,"  says  J.  H.  Jowett,  "I 
am  liberating  a  power  in  his  behalf  as  real  as  the 
electric  energy  that  glows  in  the  carbon  filament 
above  us.  You  never  do  a  finer  work  than  when 
you  finely  pray."  Prayer  is  "the  combustion  of  a 
soul,"  by  which  is  produced  kenetic  force,  which, 
entering  into  the  spiritual  order,  works  out  certain 
definite  results.  As  a  means  to  any  and  all  of  the 
important  ends  which  we  seek  to  reach,  it  has  a 
place  all  its  own. 

But  prayer  is  something  more  than  the  soul  in 
action,  the  outthrusting  of  the  spiritual  self,  the 
setting  free  and  making  operative  of  a  hidden  foun- 
tain of  dynamical  energy;  it  is  the  practical  opera- 
tion of  a  power  which  God  himself  has  set  in 
motion,  the  carrying  out  of  a  work  which  he  is 
behind.  When  a  Christian  energizes  in  prayer  for 
others  it  is  God  who  energizes  through  him.  His 
prayer  is  a  connecting  wire  along  which  God 
transmits  his  power  and  flashes  his  message.  It 
is  a  channel  for  the  water  of  life  to  flow  through 
into  other  souls;  it  is  a  cooperating  force  which 
God  can  use  in  bringing  certain  things  to  pass  in 
the  lives  of  others  and  in  the  life  of  the  world 
which  otherwise  would  not  happen.  "Through 
prayer  God  fulfills  himself,  having  made  the  prayer 
of  faith  a  potent  energy  in  the  universe;  so  that, 
if  we  would  have  the  influence  of  the  universe 
work  together  for  good  to  one  to  whom  we  are 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES    173 

linked  in  visible  and  invisible  ties,  we  owe  it  to  that 
loved  one  and  to  ourselves  and  to  God  to  pray  in 
faith  for  his  protection  and  guidance"  (Dr.  H.  C. 
Trumbull). 

Prayer  thus  enables  a  man  to  get  above  and 
beyond  himself.  It  enlarges  his  personality.  It 
redeems  his  life  from  spiritual  impotence,  by  con- 
necting it  with  the  power  and  riches  of  the  Infinite ; 
it  gives  him  the  consciousness  that  he  is  not  an 
unsupported  unit,  but  that  he  has  a  whole  infinity 
added  to  his  value.  However  weak  he  may  be  him- 
self, when  he  prays  divine  power  is  conveyed  to 
him,  and  for  the  time  being  he  becomes  the  agent 
through  which  it  acts.  It  is  therefore  no  overstate- 
ment of  the  case  to  say  that  "a  man's  power  in  the 
spiritual  world  is  to  be  measured  by  his  prayers" 
(Forbes  Robinson). 

Some  idea  of  this  kind  must  have  been  in  Paul's 
mind  when  he  spoke  of  Epaphras  as  energizing  in 
prayer  that  his  brethren  at  Colossae  "might  stand 
perfect,  and  fully  assured  in  all  the  will  of  God." 
He  must  have  believed  that  the  outflowing  energy 
of  this  humble,  praying  saint  flowed  into  the  stream 
of  the  divine  purpose;  that  the  forthputting  of  his 
will  gave  direction  to  the  will  of  God;  that  his 
prayer  "moved  the  hand  that  moves  the  universe." 

Such  is  the  dignity  and  glory  which  the  posses- 
sion of  this  power  puts  upon  a  puny  mortal.  It 
makes  him  a  medium  of  connection  between  the 
power-center  of  the  universe  and  the  souls  of 
men. 


174  THE  PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

5.  Prayer  a  Form  of  Service. 

"Brethren,  pray  for  us"  (i  Thess.  5.  25).  "Strive 
together  with  me  in  your  prayers  to  God  for  me" 
(Rom.  15.  30).  "Helping  together  on  our  behalf 
by  your  supplication"  (2  Cor.  i.  11).  The  request 
for  prayer  is  founded  upon  the  conviction  that  in 
the  network  of  influences  by  which  souls  are  con- 
nected, and  by  which  they  are  enabled  to  act  upon 
one  another,  prayer  has  a  place.  Paul  had  no 
doubt  whatever  that  prayer  sets  in  motion  influences 
by  which  other  lives  are  affected.  He  believed 
that  he  could  be  helped  by  having  others  pray  for 
him;  he  believed  that  in  some  way  he  did  not 
understand  others  could  labor  together  with  him 
in  prayer  for  success  in  the  work,  and  that  the  two 
streams  of  prayer  could  meet  and  mingle.  In  this 
very  way  they  could  all  join  forces  in  helping  on 
the  work  of  human  redemption. 

In  the  list  of  "the  distributions  of  the  Spirit" 
given  in  i  Cor.  12.  28  there  is  one  gift  which  has 
been  greatly  overlooked,  namely,  the  gift  of  "helps" 
or  "services  of  help."  This  is  a  common  gift,  and 
is  attained  by  those  who  do  not  possess  such  spec- 
tacular gifts  as  those  of  tongues  or  of  healing. 
One  form  of  that  gift  consists  in  helping  by  prayer. 
No  form  of  help  is  more  valuable  than  this,  and  it 
has  the  advantage  of  being  open  to  all.  In  it  the 
humblest  may  excel.  To  the  shut-in  ones  it  affords 
an  illimitable  field  of  action.  It  makes  it  possible 
for  the  most  repressed  and  secluded  life  to  exert  the 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES    175 

most  powerful  influence.  When  shut  out  of  what 
has  been  called  active  service  we  can  pray.  When 
age  creeps  on,  and  some  forms  of  outward  activity 
come  to  an  end,  we  can  pray, 

"O  power  to  do!     O  baffled  will! 

O  prayer  and  action,  ye  are  one! 
Who  may  not  strive  may  yet  fulfill 
The  harder  task  of  standing  still, 

And  good  but  wished  with  God  is  done." 

Never  can  it  be  ever  guessed  how  much  the 
tempted,  the  sorrowful,  and  the  sinful  are  helped 
by  the  prayers  of  God's  saints.  When  Robert 
Murray  McCheyne  died  some  one  remarked,  "Per- 
haps the  heaviest  blow  to  his  brethren,  his  people, 
and  the  land,  is  the  loss  of  his  intercessions."  "I 
wonder,"  inquires  Dr.  J.  H.  Jowett,  "which  of  the 
two  was  in  the  thick  of  "the  fight — Dr.  Paton  living 
out  among  the  savage  tribes  of  the  New  Hebrides, 
or  his  old  mother  praying  for  him  in  the  town  of 
Dumfries."  Just  as  likely  the  latter.  Perhaps  the 
proper  way  to  look  at  it  is  that  taken  by  Hartman 
Von  Aue  in  the  lines. 

He  with  the  sword  of  battle,  she  at  home  in  prayer, 
Both  win  a  victory,  and  both  the  glory  share. 

It  is  not  possible  for  anyone  to  measure  the  help 
that  has  come  to  him  from  the  sincere  prayers  of 
Christian  friends.  Often  when  faint  and  weary  he 
has  received  a  strange  accession  of  strength,  and, 
like  Luther,  under  similar  circumstances,  he  has 
been  led  to  exclaim,  "I  feel  as  if  I  were  being  prayed 
for."     Some  unseen  Aaron  and  Hur  may  at  the 


176  THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

moment  be  holding  up  his  hands.  Results  often 
come  to  our  labors  in  the  Master's  vineyard,  filling 
us  with  a  glad  surprise,  which,  if  we  could  only 
trace  to  their  source,  would  lead  us  to  the  sick 
chamber  of  some  obscure  praying  saint. 

The  weary  one  had  rest,  the  sad  had  joy  that  day, 

And  wondered  how ; 
A  plowman  singing  at  his  work  had  prayed, 

"Lord,  keep  them  now." 

Away  in  foreign  lands  they  wonder  how 

The  feeble  word  had  power; 
At  home  the  Christians,  two  or  three,  had  met 

To  pray  an  hour. 

Yes,  we  are  always  wondering,  wondering  how; 

Because  we  do  not  see 
Some  one  unknown  perhaps,  and  far  away 

On  bended  knee. 

What  a  wonderful  provision  this  is  for  the  widen- 
ing of  the  scope  of  our  influence !  What  a  wonder- 
ful escape  it  provides  from  our  limitations !  We 
can  help  those  who  are  at  a  distance;  those  who 
otherwise  are  inaccessible  to  us.  Our  prayers  can 
enter  through  closed  doors;  they  can  go  wherever 
God  himself  can  go. 

Prayer  does  not  dififer  from  any  other  form  of 
social  influence.  It  is  in  harmony  with  the  principle 
of  mutuality  of  dependence  upon  which  society  is 
structured.  In  order  to  the  accomplishment  of  cer- 
tain results  in  the  establishment  of  his  kingdom  God 
needs  the  cooperation  of  our  prayers  just  as  much 
as  he  needs  our  cooperation  in  other  ways.  Having 
conditioned  his  action  upon  ours  he  cannot  move 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES    177 

until  we  move.  There  are  mighty  works  which  he 
cannot  do  if  the  agents  upon  whom  he  depends  are 
unready. 

God  gives  us  skill, 
But  not  without  men's  hands.    He  can  not  make 
Antonio  Stradivarius'  violins  without  Antonio. 

And  he  cannot  do  certain  things  in  the  spiritual 
realm  without  the  assistance  of  those  who  labor 
with  him  and  for  him  through  prayer,  as  well  as 
through  more  outward  and  obvious  forms  of 
service. 

In  the  redemption  of  the  world  the  man  who 
prays  becomes  the  minister  of  God's  grace  to  men. 
He  virtually  puts  his  life  at  God's  disposal,  that  he 
may  use  it  on  behalf  of  others.  Therefore  he  is 
careful  to  make  his  conduct  tally  with  his  prayers, 
and  to  put  out  of  his  life  everything  that  would 
hinder  the  blessing  he  asks  for  others  coming  to 
them.  Unless  prayer  be  real  it  is  impotent;  unless 
consistent  with  what  is  professed  it  is  useless. 

Prayer  for  others  eliminates  selfishness  and  brings 
us  into  sympathy  with  God  in  his  world-embracing 
purpose  of  redemption.  It  draws  out  our  love  to 
those  for  whom  we  pray,  until  our  praying  becomes 
as  altruistic  as  other  forms  of  social  ministry. 
Tennyson,  seeing  in  the  spirit  of  altruism  in  prayer 
the  glory  of  our  higher  nature,  asks, 

"What  are  men  better  than  sheep  or  goats 
That  nourish  a  blind  life  within  the  brain, 
If  knowing  God,  they  lift  not  hands  in  prayer, 
Both  for  themselves,  and  those  who  call  them  friends?" 


178  THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

To  answer  the  inarticulate  desire,  or  spoken  en- 
treaty of  other  hearts  for  help,  by  praying  for 
them,  is  to  fulfill  one  of  life's  most  blessed 
ministries. 

6.   The  Sacrifice  of  the  Lower  for  the  Higher. 

"Defraud  ye  not  one  the  other,  except  it  be  by 
consent  for  a  season,  that  ye  may  give  yourselves 
unto  prayer"  (i  Cor.  7.  5).  The  substance  of  these 
words  is  that  ^'prayer  should  make  room  for  itself" ; 
that  it  should  not  be  hindered  by  the  enjoyment 
of  the  things  that  are  lawful  and  right;  and  that, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  should  not  override  the  inter- 
ests and  claims  of  others.  The  apostle's  argument 
runneth  thus,  "Within  the  charmed  circle  of  the 
home  do  not  deprive  anyone  of  the  interest  and 
attention  which  is  due.  Remember  that  natural 
obligations  come  before  religious  privileges.  Only 
with  the  consent  of  those  concerned,  or  with  the 
certainty  that  you  are  not  defrauding  them,  may 
you  forego  pleasures  which  are  allowable,  that  you 
may  give  yourselves  wholly  up  unto  prayer  for  a 
season." 

The  verb  scholaso,  which  is  here  rendered  "give 
yourselves  up,"  literally  means  "empty  yourselves." 
It  is  applied  to  the  vacating  of  a  house.  The  ob- 
vious meaning  is,  "Empty  the  heart  of  all  domestic 
cares;  cut  loose  from  all  conjugal  delights,  that 
you  may  devote  yourselves  to  special  prayer." 
This  is  not  to  be  done  habitually,  but  only  for  a 
season. 


V. 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES    179 


Just  as  we  need  an  occasional  holiday  to  rest  the 
body,  so  we  need  an  occasional  holy-day  to  refresh 
the  spirit — a  time  deliberately  set  apart  for  prayer ; 
a  time  of  unhurried  communion,  when  the  soul  is 
at  leisure  with  itself,  when  a  veil  is  drawn  between 
ourselves  and  created  things,  and  when  we  have 
ample  time  to  pray  ourselves  out.  From  such  a 
retreat  we  come  forth  clothed  with  new  power. 

To  get  time  for  such  a  protracted  season  of 
prayer  we  must  be  willing  to  pay  the  price ;  and  the 
price  demanded  is  a  high  one,  being  the  sacrifice  of 
the  lower  for  the  higher,  the  earthly  for  the 
heavenly.  But  it  is  worth  it;  no  price  being  too 
high  for  a  boon  so  great,  and  a  blessing  so  precious. 

7.    Applied  Prayer. 

"Praying  at  all  seasons  in  the  Spirit,  and  watch- 
ing thereunto  in  all  perseverance"  (Eph.  6.  18). 
Prayer  has  all  seasons  for  its  own.  It  is  never  out 
of  date  if  it  be  ''in  the  Spirit."  Its  fruits  are 
always  to  be  expected.  For  its  answers  we  are  to 
watch  "in  all  perseverance";  or,  as  Meyer  puts  it, 
"in  every  kind  of  perseverance."  Meyer's  render- 
ing is  a  happy  one,  because,  while  keeping  in  the 
forefront  perseverance  in  prayer,  it  leaves  room  for 
the  perseverance  in  the  works  which  should  accom- 
pany prayer.  And  certainly  prayer  and  works  ought 
to  go  together,  for  they  hold  the  same  relation  to 
one  another  as  faith  and  works.  Prayer  without 
works  is  dead,  being  alone.  When  alive  it  is  never 
alone. 


i8o  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

A  great  deal  has  been  said  and  written  about 
applied  Christianity.  An  important  part  of  applied 
Christianity  is  applied  prayer,  that  is,  prayer  car- 
ried into  practical  effect.  Praying  should  be  fol- 
lowed by  doing.  "Pray  to  God,"  says  Spurgeon, 
"but  keep  the  hammer  going." 

Prayer  and  pains 
Bring  best  of  gains. 

To  do  nothing  but  pray  is  to  come  short  of  duty. 
Prayer  may  be  a  subtle  way  of  evading  responsi- 
bility, after  the  manner  of  the  Christian  Scientists, 
who  give  absent  treatment  instead  of  service,  and 
whe  excuse  themselves  from  going  into  the  slums 
by  saying  that  they  can  help  from  a  distance. 
Prayer  is  no  substitute  for  work.  The  Master  does 
not  say,  "If  ye  know  these  things,  happy  are  ye  if 
ye  pray  about  them,"  but  "happy  are  ye  if  ye  do 
them."  Prayer  is  a  hollow  thing  if  it  ends  with 
itself;  it  is  genuine  only  when  it  leads  to  practical 
service.  "Praying  without  doing,  is  a  bow  without 
a  string."  "Let  no  one  pray  for  victory,"  says 
Lyman  Abbott,  "unless  he  is  willing  that  God  should 
answer  by  giving  him  a  battle  to  fight" ;  and  let  no 
one  pray  for  others  unless  he  is  willing  to  become  a 
laborer  together  with  God  for  the  fulfillment  of  his 
purpose  of  grace  concerning  them. 

All  prayer  is  preliminary  to  duty.  It  is  also  a 
stimulus  to  effort.  It  produces  an  impulse  to  work. 
God  gives  the  things  asked  for  in  answer  to  prayer 
because  he  knows  there  will  be  more  than  prayer; 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES    i8i 

he  knows  that  the  true  suppliant  will  practice  his 
prayers,  that  he  will  work  them  out  in  deeds.  Does 
he  pray  for  the  power  of  the  Spirit?  he  will  use 
that  power  for  the  benefit  of  others.  Does  he  pray 
for  the  poor?  he  will  make  haste  to  minister  to 
their  necessities.  Does  he  pray  for  the  coming  of 
the  Kingdom?  He  will  do  all  that  he  can  to  make 
it  come.  Does  he  pray  for  missions  ?  He  will  give 
liberally  for  their  support.  Does  he  pray  for  the 
union  of  God's  people?  He  will  labor  to  take  down 
all  dividing  fences.  Does  he  pray  for  the  conver- 
sion of  sinners  ?  He  will  be  willing  to  wet  his  feet 
to  save  them  from  perishing.  No  one  who  truly 
prays  expects  the  ripe  fruit  to  drop  into  his  open 
mouth;  he  expects  to  grow  it.  If  he  prays  for  daily 
bread,  he  expects  it  to  come  from  daily  toil ;  and  if 
he  prays  for  any  spiritual  blessing,  he  expects  it  to 
come  from  the  practical  use  of  that  augmented 
power  which  has  come  to  him  through  prayer.  It 
is  vain  to  pray  if  we  stop  with  prayer.  A  man  who 
lived  in  a  swamp  prayed  daily  to  Jupiter  for  health. 
"Pray  from  the  hilltop  and  your  prayer  will  be 
answered,"  said  Jupiter.  Prayer  for  health  should 
always  be  accompanied  by  the  use  of  remedial 
measures,  and  prayer  for  anything  whatsoever 
should  always  be  accompanied  by  the  use  of  means. 
When  the  use  of  means  is  apparently  discarded,  it 
is  often  unconsciously  employed.  Those  institutions 
which  are  said  to  be  supported  purely  by  prayer 
often  adopt  the  most  skillful  methods  of  advertising 
their  work,  and  the  most  fetching  methods  of  se- 


i82  THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

curing  supplies.  Their  leaders  pray  so  as  to  be 
overheard.  They  let  the  Lord's  people  know  what 
they  expect  of  the  Lord.  In  that  there  is  nothing 
wrong — only  let  it  be  acknowledged  as  a  wise  and 
legitimate  way  of  doing  things. 

When,  therefore,  it  is  said  that  prayer  is  "a  sense 
of  something  transacting"  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  thing  transacting  is  to  be  not  God's  only 
but  man's.  The  certain  part  of  it  is  God's,  the  un- 
certain part  is  man's.  For  the  lack  of  man's  part 
the  work  lags.  The  work  is  poorly  done  because 
the  prayer  is  faulty.  Better  prayer  would  give 
better  work.  True  prayer  is  a  costly  thing.  To 
live  up  to  our  prayers  will  call  for  toil  and  sacrifice. 
Prayer  for  the  removal  of  the  plague  will  call  for 
the  enforcement  of  heroic  sanitary  measures; 
prayer  for  personal  holiness  will  call  for  self-cruci- 
fixion; prayer  for  the  spread  of  the  kingdom  will 
call  for  sacrificial  self-giving.  The  declaration  of 
Walter  Rauschenbusch  that  "when  the  poHticians 
and  the  social  exploiters  have  to  deal  with  the 
stubborn  courage  of  men  who  pray  about  politics 
they  will  have  a  new  factor  to  reckon  with,"  un- 
doubtedly holds  good,  provided  those  who  pray  are 
prepared  to  turn  their  prayers  into  ballots,  and  into 
deeds  of  sacrificial  social  service.  Otherwise  their 
prayers  are  "sounding  brass,  or  a  clanging  cymbal." 

8.    Praying  in  the  Spirit. 

"Praying  in  the  Holy  Spirit"  (Jude  20).  "In 
like  manner  the  Spirit  also  helpeth  our  infirmity; 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES    183 

for  we  know  not  how  to  pray  as  we  ought ;  but  the 
Spirit  himself  maketh  intercession  for  us  with 
groanings  which  cannot  be  uttered;  and  he  that 
searcheth  the  hearts  knoweth  what  is  the  mind  of 
the  Spirit,  because  he  maketh  intercession  for  the 
saints  according  to  the  will  of  God"  (Rom.  8.  2(y, 
2y).  It  was  a  distinct  and  definite  promise  that  in 
the  Christian  dispensation,  in  which  we  are  now 
living,  the  Holy  Spirit  was  to  be  a  power  in  prayer. 
Christians  were  to  pray  in  him,  that  is,  in  the  sphere 
of  his  influence  and  operation,  as  standing  within 
the  circle  of  his  wisdom  and  grace.  He  was  to  be 
behind  their  prayers,  inspiring  them  and  shaping 
them;  to  those  who  put  themselves  under  his 
tuition  he  was  to  give  skill  and  power  in  prayer. 
Their  outspoken  word  was  to  be  first  of  all  his 
inspoken  word,  so  that  it  might  be  said  of  them, 
*Tt  is  not  ye  that  pray,  but  the  Spirit  of  your 
Father  that  prayeth  in  you"  (adapted  from  Matt. 
10.  20). 

As  our  prayer-prompter  and  guide  he  puts  us 
into  a  right  condition  to  receive  by  putting  us  into 
the  right  condition  to  pray.  He  suggests  such  re- 
quests as  God  can  answer.  Yea,  the  very  fact  that 
he  leads  us  to  ask  for  certain  things  is  presumptive 
proof  that  God  means  to  give  them.  By  bringing 
our  desires  into  the  agreement  with  the  divine  will 
he  makes  them  certain  of  fulfillment.  Juliana  of 
Norwich,  the  English  mystic,  expresses  this  thought 
in  her  words  of  testimony:  *'Our  Lord  said  unto 
me  I  am  the  ground  of  thy  beseechings;  first  it  is 


i84  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

my  will  that  thou  have  it ;  and  then  I  make  thee  to 
beseech  it ;  and  thou  beseechest.  How,  then,  should 
it  be  that  thou  shouldst  not  have  thy  beseechings  ?" 
Madam  Guyon,  telling  how  she  grew  into  the 
prayer  of  silence  until  vocal  prayer  almost  ceased, 
says,  "There  was  made  in  me,  without  the  sound 
of  words,  a  continual  prayer,  which  seemed  to  me 
to  be  the  prayer  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself; 
a  prayer  of  the  Word  which  is  made  by  the  Spirit, 
who,  according  to  Saint  Paul,  asketh  for  us  that 
which  is  good,  perfect,  and  conformable  to  the  will 
of  God." 

This  deep  experience,  in  which  prayer  goes  be- 
yond the  use  of  words,  is  what  Saint  Paul  refers 
to  when  he  speaks  of  the  Spirit  living  within  us — 
praying  with  inaudible  groanings,  drawing  us  out 
to  God  in  desires  which  are  unutterable.  He  speaks 
of  him  as  helping  us  in  our  infirmity,  putting  him- 
self into  us;  sharing  our  burden,  coming  under  it, 
taking  the  heavy  end  of  it ;  and  when  the  power  to 
pray  has  been  crushed  out  of  us  by  the  weight  of 
the  mystery  of  a  suffering  creation,  bringing  ease 
of  heart  by  expressing  in  voiceless  groanings  the 
desires  which  lie  concealed  in  the  depths  of  the 
subconscious  mind.  When  we  have  no  desire  to 
pray  he  moves  us  to  pray,  he  helps  us  to  pray ;  and 
when  we  are  too  weak  to  pray  because  of  infirmity 
of  will,  or  heart,  or  mind,  or  body,  he  prays  for  us 
in  sighs  and  groans  surcharged  with  fegfmg  which 
our  poor  human  words  are  powerless  to  express.  He 
helps  us  not  only  in  our  weakness  but  also  in  our 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES    185 

ignorance,  for  "we  know  not  how  to  pray  as  we 
ought"  unless  we  are  taught  of  him.  He  enlightens 
us  as  to  the  proper  matter  of  prayer,  imparting  to 
us  the  knowledge  of  our  needs,  so  that  in  his  light 
we  see  light,  and  in  our  inexpressible  longings  desire 
the  things  that  he  desires  for  us.  And  He  who 
searcheth  the  heart,  knowing  his  intercession  for  the 
saints  to  be  in  harmony  with  his  will,  answers  his 
unspoken  prayers. 

We  thus  see  that  in  this  personal  relation  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  with  the  spirit  of  man's  joint  action 
is  clearly  implied.  When  we  pray  he  prays  through 
us.  When  he  prays  we  pray  through  him.  He 
takes  up  our  prayers  as  his  own;  he  becomes  our 
mouthpiece ;  our  prayers  go  up  to  the  eternal  throne 
with  his  indorsement,  and  hence  they  find  accept- 
ance. 

9.  The  Cry  of  the  Child  to  the  Father, 

"Because  ye  are  sons,  God  sent  forth  the  Spirit 
of  his  Son  into  our  hearts,  crying,  Abba,  Father" 
(Gal.  4.  6).  Prayer  here  is  set  forth  as  the  souFs 
response  to  the  higher  call,  the  answer  of  the  child 
to  the  Father's  voice.  The  thought  of  Paul  is  this : 
"Because  ye  have  come  into  filial  relation  to  God, 
he  has  given  to  you  the  evidence  of  that  relation- 
ship by  sending  the  Spirit  of  his  Son  into  your 
hearts,  leading  you  to  call  upon  God  as  your 
Father."  "The  Spirit,"  says  Meyer,  "is  the  seal 
of  sonship  unto  which  they  had  entered  through 
faith."    First  there  is  the  act  of  adoption,  then  "the 


i86  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

spirit  of  adoption";  first  the  standing  of  the  sons, 
then  the  free  and  simple  fellowship  of  sons;  first 
the  consciousness  of  sonship,  then  the  spontaneous 
and  fervent  outcry  of  the  heart  in  joyful  recogni- 
tion of  the  Father's  answering  love. 

The  Spirit  who  reveals  our  sonship  and  awakens 
the  consciousness  of  it,  imparts  the  impulse  to  pray. 
The  outgoing  of  the  soul  to  the  Father  is  the  result 
of  his  inworking;  but  whereas  in  Rom.  8.  26  the 
Spirit  is  represented  as  making  intercession  for  us 
with  unutterable  groanings,  here  he  is  represented 
as  praying  through  us  in  audible  crying.  And  as 
the  sense  of  sonship  is  clear  or  dim,  the  cry  of  the 
heart  to  the  Father  is  strong  or  feeble. 

When  the  sense  of  sonship  is  at  its  weakest,  and 
the  half-awakened  soul  is  like 

An  infant  crying  in  the  night, 
An  infant  crying  for  the  light, 
And  with  no  language  but  a  cry, 

to  the  Father's  ear  that  cry  is  full  of  meaning. 
Love  is  the  interpreter  of  need.  The  Father  under- 
stands what  lies  behind  the  feeblest  cry  of  his  most 
far-away  child,  and  he  answers,  not  according  to 
his  child's  knowledge  of  himself,  but  according  to 
his  knowledge  of  his  child.  This  discloses  the 
heart  of  prayer.  Founded  upon  filial  relations,  the 
blessings  which  it  brings  is  not  an  alms  dropped 
into  the  palm  of  a  pauper  but  a  gift  bestowed  by  a 
wise  and  gracious  Father  upon  a  suppliant  child. 
The  Spirit  in  the  heart  by  which  we  pray  is  the 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES    187 

Spirit  of  God's  Son — the  Spirit  which  he  promised, 
and  which  he  bestows.  By  his  Spirit  he  dwells 
within  us,  prompting  us  to  pray  as  he  did,  in  the 
happy  consciousness  of  divine  sonship.  The  en- 
dearing terms,  "Abba,  Father,"  which  he  teaches  us 
to  use,  were  no  doubt  employed  by  himself  and  his 
disciples.  When  we  pray  in  that  fashion  we  stand 
where  he  stood;  we  share  with  him  the  privileges 
of  his  exalted  position;  and  identify  ourselves  with 
what  was  vital  and  essential  in  his  life  of  prayer. 

The  cry  of  the  heart  to  God  as  Father  is  the 
deepest  thing  in  Christian  experience  and  in  Chris- 
tian prayer.  To  know  God  as  Christ  revealed  him ; 
to  pray  to  him  as  Father  is  to  pray  to  him  as  Christ 
taught  us  to  pray,  and  as  Christ  himself  prayed. 
To  have  fellowship  with  God  as  Father  is  to  attain 
the  utmost  goal  of  the  life  of  the  Spirit.  Hence  it 
is  no  wonder  that  from  sonship  Paul  predicts  heir- 
ship; reasoning  thus:  "Because  ye  are  sons,  God 
sent  forth  the  Spirit  of  his  Son  into  pur  hearts, 
crying,  Abba,  Father.  So  that  thou  art  no  longer 
a  bondservant,  but  a  son ;  and  if  a  son,  then  an  heir 
through  God,"  that  is,  an  heir  by  divine  right.  And 
so  to  the  blessed  Paraclete,  who  ever  stands  beside 
us  and  dwells  within  us,  to  help  us  realize  our 
heavenly  lineage,  and  brings  us  into  possession  of 
our  heavenly  birthright,  we  should  ever  pray, 

"In  us,  'Abba,  Father,'  cry, — 
Earnest  of  our  bliss  on  high, 
Seal  of  immortality, — 

Comforter  divine !" 


i88  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

This  certainty  of  sonship,  with  its  free  and  joyous 
communion,  was  singularly  absent  from  the  prayer- 
life  of  the  older  generations  of  Christians,  whose 
conception  of  God  was  that  of  a  King  rather  than 
a  Father.  He  was  hard  to  reach,  and  equally  hard 
to  persuade.  These  old  saints  would  not  rise  from 
their  knees  till  they  were  *'sure  of  his  audience." 
Had  they  known  him  as  Father,  they  would  have 
been  sure  of  his  audience  before  going  upon  their 
knees;  and  instead  of  going  afar  to  find  him  they 
would  have  found  him  in  their  hearts  and  have 
received  his  instant  audience  and  his  utmost  blessing. 

lo.  Intercession  the  Crown  and  Glory  of  Prayer. 

"I  exhort  therefore,  first  of  all,  that  supplica- 
tions, prayers,  intercessions,  thanksgivings,  be 
made  for  all  men"  (i  Tim.  2.  i).  Intercession  is 
the  crown  and  glory  of  prayer  because  it  is  the 
highest  form  of  the  altruistic  spirit.  The  inter- 
cessor is  utterly  unselfish.  He  thinks  of  others, 
gives  himself  to  others,  loses  all  thought  of  his 
own  interests,  and  ends  in  seeking  the  interests  and 
ends  of  others.  He  does  not  think  how  he  can 
make  use  of  God;  he  does  not  stand  with  out- 
stretched hands  to  receive  something  for  himself; 
he  stands  by  God's  side,  the  almoner  of  his  bounty, 
the  dispenser  of  his  grace. 

In  the  play  of  forces  by  which  we  are  helped 
intercession  has  a  place.  By  it  God  is  influenced; 
by  it  something  is  brought  to  bear  upon  others 
which  God  can  use;  by  it  connecting  wires  of  per- 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES    189 

sonal  interest  are  established,  along  which  the  grace 
and  power  of  God  can  be  transmitted;  by  it  our 
wills  are  made  to  enter  into  his,  so  that  through 
us  he  can  find  a  new  way  of  working  out  his  pur- 
pose of  redemption  in  other  lives. 

Intercession  benefits  the  intercessor.  It  identifies 
him  with  the  Great  Intercessor  and  establishes  a 
bond  of  sympathy  between  them.  It  brings  him 
into  fellowship  and  cooperation  with  him  touching 
whatever  he  is  seeking  to  accomplish  in  the  lives  of 
men  around  him.  It  lifts  him  up  into  the  high 
realm  where  spiritual  forces  widely  work,  and  makes 
his  life  part  of  the  divine  order  which  is  being 
administered  in  the  interests  of  redemption. 

From  the  Christian  idea  of  intercession  the  earlier 
and  cruder  forms  of  priestly  intercession  must, 
however,  be  rigorously  excluded.  They  have  been 
completely  outgrown.  The  object  of  intercessory 
prayer,  according  to  the  Christian  conception  of  it, 
is  not  to  stay  God's  hand  of  vengeance,  to  induce 
him  to  be  kind,  or  constrain  him  to  do  for  the  one 
prayed  for  what  he  was  not  originally  disposed  to 
do.  Instead  of  praying  that  he  may  be  merciful 
and  kind,  we  are  to  pray  to  him  because  he  is 
merciful  and  kind.  We  are  not  to  fancy,  as 
Abraham  apparently  did,  when  he  pleaded  for 
Sodom,  that  we  are  more  merciful  than  God.  We 
are  in  no  danger  whatever  in  outrunning  God  in 
our  prayers,  but  are  more  likely  to  imitate  Abraham 
in  stopping  praying  before  God  stops  giving.  God's 
thoughts  are  higher  than  our  thoughts  and  his  ways 


190  THE  PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

than  our  ways.  His  infinite  love  for  others  is 
always  in  advance  of  anything  we  can  ask  or  think. 

Intercessory  prayer  costs.  Even  a  heathen  sage 
like  Seneca  saw  this,  and  said,  "Nothing  costs  so 
much  as  what  is  bought  by  prayer."  Driving  home 
this  truth,  Dr.  J.  H.  Jowett  asks,  "Do  our  prayers 
bleed  ?"  He  cites  the  case  of  Saint  Catherine  "whose 
prayers  were  red  with  sacrifice,  and  who  felt  the 
grasp  of  the  pierced  hand,"  and  maintains  that 
intercessory  prayer  that  does  not  cost  soul-travail 
is  valueless.  This  is  generally  true,  and  in  one 
respect  at  least  it  is  universally  true.  The  inter- 
cessor has  often  to  tread  the  wine  press  alone. 
He  goes  into  the  holy  place,  or  he  ascends  the 
mountain  top  alone.  When  fighting  for  a  soul  to 
save  it  from  the  powers  of  hell  he  is  with  the  wild 
beasts  in  the  wilderness,  and  there  is  none  with  him 
to  aid  him  in  the  struggle.  But  all  intercessory 
prayer  is  not  of  that  character.  Not  infrequently 
it  begins  in  soul  agony  and  passes  over  into  rest; 
it  begins  in  solitariness  of  soul  and  ends  in  com- 
forting and  sustaining  fellowship.  Instead  of 
travail  there  is  quiet,  confident,  patient,  waiting 
upon  God,  in  the  firm  conviction  that  the  prayer 
which  has  been  seemingly  unavailing  shall  yet  be 
rewarded  with  a  glad  surprise. 

Intercession  is  generally  keyed  too  low.  We  do 
not  always  ask  the  best  for  our  friends.  We  ask 
that  they  may  find  relief  from  pain,  that  their  lives 
may  be  spared,  that  some  great  good  of  a  temporal 
sort  may  come  to  them,  thus   conveying  the   im- 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES    191 

pression  that  spiritual  things  are  secondary  in  our 
thoughts.  In  intercessory  prayer,  as  in  prayer  for 
ourselves,  the  primacy  must  always  be  given  to  the 
spiritual. 

But  does  some  one  ask,  "If  God  is  doing  all  that 
he  wisely  and  righteously  can  for  the  highest  good 
of  all  his  children,  what  is  the  use  of  asking  him 
to  do  more?"  As  well  ask,  'Tf  God  is  doing  all 
that  he  wisely  and  righteously  can"'f6r  the  highest 
good  of  all  his  children,  why  trouble  ourselves 
about  their  betterment?"  The  answer  is  that  in 
both  instances  we  are  helping  God;  and  we  are 
helping  him  because  he  needs  and  asks  our  help. 
Intercessory  prayer  finds  its  explanation  and  justi- 
fication in  the  fact  that  it  is  an  appointed  way  of 
helping  God  to  distribute  his  richest  blessings  to 
the  largest  number  of  his  children. 

II.   The  Universality  of  Prayer. 

"For  all  the  saints"  (Eph.  6.  18).  "For  all  men" 
(i  Tim.  2.  i).  Prayer  takes  us  out  of  ourselves; 
it  delivers  us  from  our  limitations;  it  lifts  us  up 
into  the  universal;  it  connects  us  with  the  Infinite. 
True  prayer  is  never  provincial;  but  is  as  wide 
in  its  sweep  as  the  grace  of  God  and  the  need  of 
man. 

Here  are  the  two  great  universalities  of  prayer. 
They  include  all  who  can  possibly  be  made  the 
subjects  of  prayer. 

(i)  All  saints.  Prayer  is  to  be  made  for  all 
saints,  without  distinction  and  without  exception; 


192  THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

for  unsaintly  saints,  for  unorthodox  saints,  for  all 
who  have  in  them  any  trace  of  sainthood.  Paul 
himself  prayed  that  God's  grace  might  be  sent  upon 
"all  that  call  upon  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  in  every  place"  (i  Cor.  i.  2),  and  upon  all 
"that  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  with  a  love  incor- 
ruptible" (Eph.  6.  24).  He  recognized  his  oneness 
with  the  whole  body  of  believers ;  he  looked  upon 
them  as  constituting  a  great  household  of  which 
he  was  a  member,  hence  he  identified  their  interests 
with  his  own.  His  love  for  the  brethren  overleaped 
all  personal  preferences  and  differences  of  opinion 
and  bound  them  to  him  with  a  tie  which  nothing 
could  break.  It  is  true  that  sectarian  barriers  had 
not  then  been  erected,  and  he  had  not  these  to  sur- 
mount; but  the  human  heart  is  ever  the  same,  and 
catholicity  of  spirit  is  a  thing  of  grace. 

With  the  splitting  of  the  church  into  so  many 
divisions  it  has  become  more  difficult  for  any  one 
saint  to  pray  for  all  other  saints.  It  is  hard  for 
Protestant  saints  to  pray  for  Roman  Catholic  saints, 
or  for  Roman  Catholic  saints  to  pray  for  Protestant 
saints.  It  is  hard  for  the  warring  sects  to  include 
each  other  in  God's  covenanted  mercies  and  to  pray 
for  each  other's  successes.  It  is  so  easy  to  sub- 
stitute prayer  for  our  church,  or  prayer  for  the 
church ;  so  easy  to  pray  that  our  ecclesiastical  fleece 
may  be  wet  with  the  dew  of  heaven,  even  if  all 
others  should  be  dry.  Perhaps  there  is  no  more 
searching  test  of  the  spirit  of  prayer  than  this — 
Does  it  shut  out  any  whom  God  receives?     All 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES    193 

heaven-born  prayer  will  embrace  the  whole  of  God's 
spiritual  children,  whatever  name  or  sign  they  may 
bear;  it  will  implore  the  benison  of  heaven  to  rest 
upon  them,  and  will  ask  that  they  may  speedily  be 
brought  together,  and  "become  one  flock,  one 
shepherd/* 

(2)  All  men.  Prayer  is  to  be  made  for  all  sorts 
and  conditions  of  men.  "For  kings  and  all  that 
are  in  high  places."  In  the  case  to  whom  these 
words  were  originally  addressed  it  was  to  include 
that  monster  Nero,  who  was  at  that  time  reigning 
in  Bxmie.  But  not  for  kings  and  rulers  only  is 
prayer  to  be  made ;  it  is  to  be  made  "for  all  men,'' 
from  the  king  on  the  throne  to  the  beggar  on  the 
dunghill.  If  this  world-embracing  view  of  prayer 
has  become  a  religious  commonplace,  it  is  well  to 
remember  that  the  change  has  come  about  because 
of  the  new  social  atmosphere  which  Christianity  has 
produced,  and  the  new  sense  of  humanity  which  it 
has  awakened.  When  these  words  were  written  it 
was  something  entirely  new. 

Two  of  the  leading  festivals  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church  are  "All  Saints'  Day"  and  "All  Souls' 
Day."  What  these  days  stand  for  and  emphasize 
should  permeate  the  prayer  life  of  Christendom. 
Not  at  set  times  only,  but  at  all  times,  is  prayer  to 
be  made  for  all  saints  and  for  all  souls.  The  pray- 
ing Christian  should  rise  superior  to  all  religious 
and  racial  prejudices;  instead  of  being  provincial 
in  his  outlook,  clannish  in  his  spirit,  restricted  in 
his  sympathy,  he  should  have  regard  to  Christians 


194  THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

as  Christians,  and  to  men  as  men;  he  should  look 
upon  the  whole  world  of  men  through  God's  eyes; 
feel  toward  them  as  God  feels.  Instead  of  setting 
up  his  little  stakes,  and  saying  to  the  outflowing 
tide  of  divine  love,  ''Hitherto  shalt  thou  come,  and 
no  further,"  he  should  make  his  prayer  express 
God's  universal  good  will  to  the  children  of  men. 

(a)  He  is  to  pray  for  all  men;  "for  there  is  one 
God"  .  .  .  "who  would  have  all  men  to  be  saved, 
and  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth" ;  one  God 
who  sustains  the  same  relation  to  all,  and  who  has 
the  same  purpose  of  redemption  regarding  all;  one 
God  who  is  everybody's  God,  as  the  sun  is  every- 
body's sun;  one  God  of  whose  grace  no  one  has  a 
monopoly.  Where  God  makes  no  distinction  in  his 
saving  purpose,  what  ground  has  anyone  to  make 
distinction  in  his  prayers? 

{b)  He  is  also  to  pray  for  all  men,  ''for  there  is 
.  .  .  one  mediator  also  between  God  and  men, 
himself  man,  Christ  Jesus,  who  gave  himself  a 
ransom  for  all."  The  universality  of  Christ's 
mediatorship  affords  a  reason  as  urgent  as  it  is 
cogent  for  the  universality  of  prayer.  Its  implica- 
tion is  this:  Pray  for  all  men  everywhere;  for  the 
despised  classes,  for  the  outcast  classes,  for  the 
most  debased  and  imbruted  of  men ;  pray  for  them 
because  in  Christ  has  been  provided  the  means  of 
their  salvation ;  pray  for  them  because  your  prayers 
may  be  one  link  in  the  chain  of  influences  to  bring 
them  into  the  connection  with  the  source  of  salva- 
tion. 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES    195 

To  have  the  Hps  sealed,  for  any  cause,  against 
prayer  for  a  single  soul  anywhere  in  God's  universe, 
is  to  stand  outside  of  his  redeeming  purpose.  He 
prayeth  best  who  loveth  best  the  whole  of  human 
kind;  and  he  most  resembles  God  who  has  a  wide- 
ness  in  his  love  like  the  wideness  of  the  sea. 

12.    The  Anticipatory  Element  in  Prayer. 

'Tn  nothing  be  anxious;  but  in  everything  by 
prayer  and  supplication  with  thanksgiving  let  your 
requests  be  made  known  unto  God"  (Phil.  4.  6). 
"The  beginning  of  anxiety,"  says  Andrew  Murray, 
"is  the  end  of  faith" ;  and,  vice  versa,  the  beginning 
of  faith  is  the  end  of  anxiety.  The  prayer  of 
faith  is  the  grave  of  care.  In  everything  pray,  and 
care  will  take  to  itself  wings  and  fly  away.  "Trouble 
and  perplexity  drive  us  to  prayer  and  prayer  driveth 
away  trouble  and  perplexity." 

Prayer  and  supplication  are  here  conjoined,  as 
they  often  are  elsewhere  in  the  Scripture.  "Prayer" 
is  the  general  word,  and  indicates  communion  with 
God  in  any  of  its  aspects ;  "supplication"  has  refer- 
ence to  prayer  for  the  supply  of  special  wants.  In 
everything  we  are  to  pray  to  God  and  supplicate 
his  aid;  praying  with  a  purpose,  making  definite 
requests,  asking  specific  blessings,  and  leaving,  with 
a  care-free  heart,  the  disposal  of  things  to  his 
wisdom  and  love. 

The  qualifying  phrase  "with  thanksgiving"  is  full 
of  significance.  The  common  explanation  of  these 
words  is  that  thanks  is  to  be  given  for  past  mercies, 


196  THE  PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

before  asking  for  more.  This  interpretation  does 
not,  however,  exhaust  the  meaning  of  these  words. 
The  apostle  clearly  teaches  that  not  for  past  mercies 
alone  are  we  to  give  thanks,  but  also  for  mercies 
to  come.  He  says,  "with  thanksgiving  let  your 
requests  be  made  known  unto  God."  The  conten- 
tion that  thanksgiving  relates  to  what  God  has  done, 
prayer  to  what  we  hope  he  will  do,  does  not  alvvays 
hold.  Thanks  may  be  given  for  things  asked  for 
and  hoped  for.  If  God's  word  is  sure,  it  will  be 
quite  as  appropriate  to  thank  him  for  what  is  prom- 
ised, as  for  what  is  already  in  hand.  The  prudential 
proverb,  "A  bird  in  the  hand  is  worth  two  in  the 
bush,"  expresses  a  half  truth  at^Jjest.  There  are 
times  when  a  thing  asked  for  is  as  really  ours  as  if 
in  actual  possession.  To  ask  in  faith  is  to  bring 
into  the  enjoyment  of  the  present  all  the  anticipated 
wealth  and  glory  of  the  future.  In  the  proportion 
to  the  strength  of  faith  will  be  the  disposition  to 
praise  God  before  we  have  outward  evidence  that 
our  requests  have  been  granted.  In  his  pledged 
word  faith  finds  "the  confident  expectation  of  things 
hoped  for." 

The  exhortation  of  the  apostle  is  to  unite  prayer 
and  supplication  with  thanksgiving  "in  everything." 
Nothing  can  be  sought  in  prayer  whick  God  cannot 
supply.  His  treasures  are  inexhaustible,  and  they 
are  ours  in  the  measure  in  which  we  can  receive 
and  use  them.  Raised  above  all  fear  of  want  or 
failure  we  are  therefore  warranted  in  turning  our 
every  prayer  into  a  hymn  of  praise. 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES    197 

To  do  this  is  simply  to  anticipate  God.  It  is 
to  thank  him  in  advance,  as  we  often  do  in  our 
letters  to  those  of  whom  we  ask  some  personal 
favor.  Anticipating  God,  we  will  rejoice  in  the 
coming  shower  before  it  falls;  we  will  sing  our 
paean  of  victory  before  the  battle  is  on ;  we  will  give 
thanks  before  the  Red  Sea  of  difficulty  has  been 
crossed;  we  will  look  confidently  for  a  door  of 
deliverance  in  the  valley  of  Achor;  yea,  we  will 
wait  for  the  ultimate  issue  of  every  event  with 
unfaltering  faith,  and  while  waiting  to  enter  upon 
our  reserved  inheritance  we  will  receive  earnests 
of  it.  Our  present  experiences  will  be  more  than 
prophetic.  The  hope  of  complete  fulfillment  will 
sustain  our  fainting  hearts  as  we  tread  the  heaven- 
ward way.  By  forestalling  the  future  we  will 
glorify  the  present. 

13.    Unceasing  Prayer. 

"Pray  without  ceasing"  (i  Thess.  5.  17).  "Pray- 
ing always**  (Coir I.  3).  "Praying  at  all  seasons" 
(Eph.  6.  18).  These  words  must  not  be  watered 
down  to  mean,  Be  always  in  the  spirit  of  prayer. 
Their  obvious  meaning  is.  Offer  unceasing  suppli- 
cation to  God;  let  prayer  flow  upward  to  him  in  a 
constant  stream;  live  in  such  unbroken  connection 
with  him  that  the  most  widely  scattered  prayers 
shall  be  as  one. 

In  interpreting  these  words  the  mistake  has  been 
made  of  supposing  that  to  pray  without  ceasing 
must  always  mean  the  conscious  uplifting  of  the 


198  THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

heart  to  God  in  direct  petition.  We  know  that  this 
is  impossible.  The  soul  cannot  be  always  on  the 
wing;  its  heavenward  flight  cannot  be  steadily 
maintained.  It  must  sometimes  touch  the  earth. 
"Prayer,"  says  the  poet  Longfellow,  *'flieth  inces- 
sant 'twixt  the  earth  and  the  sky,  the  carrier  pigeon 
of  heaven"  ;  but  the  strongest  wing  will  grow  weary. 
The  uplifted  hands  which  are  long  uplifted  will 
hang  down.  As  a  specific  act  of  devotion  prayer 
will  sooner  or  later  come  to  an  end;  as  a  state  of 
mind  and  heart  it  may  continue  without  ceasing. 
Beneath  the  strata  of  the  worldly  thoughts  and 
interests  and  activities  may  run  the  ever-flowing 
stream  of  holy  desire.  When  the  lips  are  mute  the 
heart  may  speak ;  when  the  praying  soul  has  spoken 
himself  out  and  words  refuse  to  flow,  his  prayer 
may  continue. 

( I )  The  whole  life  may  he  in  itself  an  unceasing 
prayer.  As  Victor  Hugo  has  said,  ''Whatever  the 
attitude  of  the  body,  the  soul  may  be  upon  its  knees." 
And  when  the  soul  is  upon  its  knees  the  life  will  be 
one  living,  breathing  prayer.  Along  with  a  life  of 
prayer  there  will  be  the  prayer  of  a  life.  "When 
we  have  learned  to  offer  up  any  duty  connected 
with  our  situation  in  life  as  a  sacrifice  to  God," 
says  Thomas  Erskine,  "a  settled^^mpleyment  just 
becomes  a  settled  habit  of  prayer."  In  such  a  case 
prayer  is  as  unceasing  as  life;  it  continues  as  long 
as  life  continues,  and  ends  only  when  life  itself 
ends. 

Prayer  being  rooted  in  life,  its  formal  expression 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES    199 

is  simply  the  upthrusting  of  the  subconscious  self, 
the  breaking  of  a  bubble  which  rises  from  the  soul's 
unfathomable  depths;  it  may  go  on  in  the  sub- 
conscious region  when  it  has  run  out  in  conscious 
experience,  just  as  love  goes  on  in  our  sleeping  and 
in  our  waking.  This  Mrs.  Browning  affirms  in  the 
lines, 

In  a  mother  undefiled, 
Prayer  goeth  on  in  sleep,  as  true 
And  pauseless,  as  the  pulses  do. 

(2)  We  may  also  pray  without  ceasing  in  the 
sense  of  cherishing  a  feeling  of  unbroken  depend- 
ence upon  God.  Prayer  springs  from  the  conscious- 
ness of  creature  insufficiency,  coupled  with  a  be- 
lief in  Divine  all-sufficiency.  It  is  the  turning  of 
man  in  his  emptiness  to  the  source  of  his  supply. 
Man  prays  because  he  finds  himself  inadequate  to 
the  things  of  life.  Life's  burdens  are  too  heavy  to 
be  carried  alone,  life's  problems  are  too  hard  to  be 
solved  alone,  life's  sorrows  are  too  great  to  be 
borne  alone,  life's  duties  are  too  difficult  to  be 
performed  alone. 

In  nothing  is  man  sufficient  unto  himself;  in  no 
condition  can  he  dispense  with  God.  God  is  a  felt 
necessity.  Dependence  is  as  real  as  existence.  And 
what  is  prayer  but  his  acknowledgment  of  his  need 
of  God?  And  what  is  unceasing  prayer  but  his 
unceasing  dependence  on  God's  unceasing  love,  as 
he  quietly  rests  in  him  as  the  underlying  support  of 
his  life? 

(3)  Above  all,  zve  are  to  pray  zvithoiit  ceasing 


200  THE  PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

in  the  sense  that  we  are  to  pray  zvithout  ceasing  to 
trust.  One  prayer  is  to  be  linked  to  another  irTa" 
continuous  chain  of  faith.  There  is  to  be  no  let-up 
to  faith  and  hope,  but  a  confident  expectation  that 
the  things  asked  for  will  be  granted.  This  is  the 
vital  thing  in  unceasing  prayer.  If  faith  fail  not, 
prayer  will  be  unceasing,  however  infrequently  it  is 
offered  up;  for,  no  matter  how  many  interruptions 
come  in  to  break  up  our  devotions,  we  will  always 
take  up  our  prayer  where  we  left  it  off.  Our  most 
fragmentary  prayers  will  thus  be  united  by  a  com- 
mon faith  into  one  continuous  whole. 

When  a  man  plunges  into  business  God  is  neces- 
sarily out  of  his  immediate  thought,  and  formal 
prayer  is  out  of  the  question.  The  more  absorbed 
he  is  in  the  matter  in  hand  the  less  he  will  carry 
the  deeper  interests  of  life  in  mind ;  yet  underneath 
all  business  strain  and  worry  there  may  be  a  firm 
and  unshakable  faith  in  God  touching  the  things 
which  have  been  desired  of  him;  and  the  faith 
which  underlies  life  may  join  together  its  separate 
parts  as  a  cable  under  the  ocean  connects  widely 
separated  continents.  Or,  to  change  the  figure, 
what  seemed  a  break  in  the  symphony  of  life  may 
in  reality  be  a  mere  interlude  between  its  parts. 

No  one  ceases  to  pray  who  continues  to  trust. 
Parents  pray  for  the  conversion  of  a  wayward 
child  and  see  no  results.  Months  change  into  years, 
and  still  the  answer  is  delayed ;  yet  if  they  continue 
to  trust  their  covenant  God,  they_  are  praying  with- 
out ceasing.    Assured  that  he  has  heard 'them,  they 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES  201 

will  abate  no  jot  of  heart  and  hope,  but  will  turn 
to  life's  tasks,  calmly  waiting  the  working  out  of 
God's  answer  to  their  prayers.  Christians  pray  for 
a  revival  of  religion,  and  for  a  time  nothing  fol- 
lows; but  if  they  pray  on,  continuing  to  believe  in 
God's  love  and  power,  at  length  the  heavens  will  be 

V     opened  and  showers  of  blessing  will  descend  upon 

■""-^Jthe  parched  land. 

When  faith  ceases  prayer  ceases.  Without  faith 
a  man  may  continue  to  say  his  prayers,  but  he  has 
ceased  to  pray.  The  only  prayer  that  is  real,  and 
hence  the  only  prayer  that  prevails,  is  the  prayer 
that  takes  hold  and  keeps  hold  of  God.  "Prayer 
is  heard  in  heaven,"  says  Spurgeon,  "in  proportion 
to  our  faith.  Little  faith  will  get  great  mercies, 
but  great  faith  still  greater."  The  prayer  that  un- 
ceasingly repeats  itself,  and  unceasingly  prevails,  is 
the  prayer  of  unceasing  faith. 

14.   Prayer  as  a  Habit. 

"I  desire  therefore  that  men  pray  in  every  place" 
(i  Tim.  2.  8).  This  being  merely  a  variation  of 
the  foregoing  thought,  need  not  here  be  enlarged 
upon.  It  brings  to  view  another  form  of  continuous 
prayer.  Prayer  has  not  only  all  times  and  seasons 
for  its  own;  it  has  all  places  for  its  own.  The 
world  is  a  temple,  any  spot  thereon  an  altar.  To 
every  place  heaven  is  equally  near ;  and  the  flow  of 
divine  communion  which  a  bustling  world  so  often 
interrupts  is  liable  to  break  out  at  any  place  where 
the   need  of   God  is   felt.     Dr.   Horace   Bushnell 


202  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

testifies  that  he  ''fell  into  the  habit  of  talking  with 
God  on  every  occasion.  I  talk  myself  asleep  at 
night,"  said  he,  "and  open  the  morning  talking  with 
him."  This  habit  of  connecting  every  part  of  the 
day  with  prayer  ought  to  be  sedulously  cultivated. 
Yet  the  spontaneous  upgoing  of  the  soul  to  God 
must  not  be  allowed  to  take  the  place  of  set  times 
of  prayer;  for,  as  Juan  de  Avila  wisely  remarks, 
"No  man  will  be  able  to  pray  with  profit  in  any 
place  unless  first  he  have  heart  to  pray  in  a  par- 
ticular place,  and  to  employ  some  space  of  time 
therein." 

15.   Looking  for  the  Answer. 

"Praying  .  .  .  and  watching  thereunto"  (Eph.  6. 
18).  When  prayer  has  been  offered  we  are  to  look 
for  the  answer,  as  the  archer  looks  to  see  if  his 
arrow  has  hit  the  mark;  or  as  the  person  who 
knocks  at  the  door  looks  for  it  to  be  opened. 

The  expression  "watching  thereunto"  might  be 
more  strictly  rendered  "being  sleepless  thereunto." 
An  alert,  sleepless  outlook  is  to  be  maintained  until 
the  answer  comes.  Too  many  go  away  from  the 
throne  of  grace  forgetting  what  they  have  come  for ; 
they  have  no  real  expectation  of  seeing  anything 
happen  as  the  result  of  their  prayers ;  or,  if  for  a 
time  they  look  for  an  answer,  by  and  by  their 
interest  slackens,  their  vigilance  relaxes,  or  the  dis- 
tractions of  life  call  ofif  their  thoughts  from  what 
they  were  seeking,  and  they  cease  to  have  expecta- 
tion of  anything  definite  coming  to  them. 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES  203 

To  let  go  the  expectant  attitude  Is  to  suffer  great 
loss.  It  is  to  empty  life  of  one  of  the  chief  elements 
of  its  interest;  it  is  virtually  to  say  that  there  has 
come  an  end  of  God.  To  the  praying  man  God 
himself  is  the  real  object  of  hope.  The  song  of  his 
life  has  for  its  refrain,  "My  soiil,_jKait_thou.  ow/y 
upon  God,  for  my  expectation  is  from  him."  If 
God  be  the  Infinite  Good,  there  is  every  reason  why 
he  should  expect  great  things  from  him ;  and  if  he 
has  promised  certain  special  and  abundant  blessings 
in  answer  to  prayer,  he  has  every  reason  to  expect 
that  they  will  be  given.  Hence  it  behooves  him  to 
keep  looking  for  their  coming. 

It  is  hard  to  keep  a  steady  watch,  hard  to  curb 
our  impatience  when  the  things  we  were  looking  for 
seem  to  be  delayed.  Waiting  tests  our  faith.  Fain 
would  we  control  God,  instead  of  waiting  patiently 
upon  him  to  see  what  he  is  going  to  do.  But  we 
have  to  wait.  When  the  tide  is  out  there  is  nothing 
to  do  but  to  tarry  for  its  return ;  when  the  night  is 
dark  there  is  nothing  to  do  but  to  watch  for  the 
morning;  when  the  powers  of  evil  prevail  there  is 
nothing  to  do  but  to  look  for  the  glory  of  the  corn- 
ing of  the  Lord.  "For  the  vision  is  yet  for  the 
appointed  time,  and  it  hasteth  toward  the  end,  and 
shall  not  lie;  though  it  tarry,  wait  for  it:  because 
it  will  surely  come,  it  will  not  delay"  (Hab.  2.  3). 

In  watching  for  the  answer  we  must  look  all 
around,  for  while  we  are  looking  for  it  in  one  direc- 
tion it  may  be  coming  in  another,  and  we  may  miss 
it.     Standing  upon  our  watchtower  scanning  the 


^4  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

horizon,  we  are  to  look  in  every  direction,  watching 
for  the  reenforcements  which  are  on  the  way.  God 
is  faithful  and  will  not  leave  a  beleaguered  soul  un- 
relieved. Praying  and  watching  will  bring  their 
reward.  "Begin  praying,  continue  watching,  and 
you  will  end  in  praising." 


CHAPTER   II 

THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER  IN  THE  EPISTLE  TO 
THE  HEBREWS 

The  unknown  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  approaches  the  subject  of  prayer  from 
the  standpoint  of  its  relation  to  Christianity  as  the 
final  religion.  He  sees  in  Judaism  the  bud  of  which 
Christianity  is  the  full-blown  flower.  With  hini 
^'Christianity  is  represented  as  sublimated,  com- 
pleted, idealized  Judaism"  (Farrer).  Continuity 
and  development  mark  the  entire  process  of  revela- 
tion. The  Jewish  ritualistic  system  was  merely  "a 
shadow  of  things  to  come."  It  contained  "weak 
and  beggarly  elements"  which  passed  away  when 
that  which  is  perfect  arrived.  Religion,  stripped  of 
its  ceremonial  character,  became  the  free  and  spon- 
taneous worship  of  God  in  the  spirit.  Prayer,  like 
every  other  part  of  the  religious  life,  came  to  its 
full  stage  of  development.  To  every  believer  was 
accorded  the  privilege  of  access  into  the  holy  place 
and  of  immediate  fellowship  with  God. 

Writing  to  Jewish  Christians,  our  author  natu- 
rally employs  thought-forms  borrowed  from  Jewish 
sources.  His  imagery  is  Jewish,  his  thought  is 
Christian. 

I.   The  Throne  of  Grace, 

"Let  us  therefore  draw  near  with  boldness  unto 
205 


2o6  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

the  throne  of  grace,  that  we  may  receive  mercy, 
and  find  grace  to  help  us  in  time  of  need"  (Heb.  4. 
16).  The  word  ''therefore"  is  what  has  been  called 
a  reason-rendering  particle.  It  has  behind  it  a 
"because."  Because  we  have  a  great  High  Priest, 
who  was  himself  tried  in  the  furnace  of  temptation, 
and  who  came  out  of  it  unscathed,  therefore  let  us, 
through  him,  draw  near  with  bold  and  joyous  con- 
fidence unto  the  throne  of  grace.  This  the  argu- 
ment of  the  writer. 

(i)  Observe  to  what  we  are  to  come: 
(a)  A  throne,  A  throne  is  the  symbol  of  the 
highest  earthly  power.  It  is  here  the  symbol  of 
divine  power.  At  the  center  of  the  universe  there 
is  a  throne,  the  seat  of  order  and  government.  The 
one  who  sits  upon  it  holds  in  his  hand  the  reins  of 
universal  dominion.  Having  absolute  throne-power, 
he  is  able  to  do  for  those  who  come  to  him  in 
prayer  "exceedingly  abundantly  above  all  they  ask 
or  think." 

Thou  art  coming  to  a  King, 

Great  petitions  with  thee  bring; 

For  his  power  and  love  are  such 

None  can  ever  ask  too  much. 

{h)  The  throne  of  grace.  That  is,  the  throne  of 
which  grace  is  the  distinguishing  quality ;  the  throne 
established  in  grace;  the  throne  from  which  grace 
is  royally  and  righteously  dispensed.  It  is  to  such 
a  throne  that  we  are  invited  to  approach  in  prayer, 
the  throne  in  which  sovereign  power  and  fatherly 
love  are  blended  into  one.     From  the  throne  of 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES   207 

divine  majesty  mortals  shrink;  from  the  throne  of 
divine  judgment  sinners  flee ;  to  the  throne  of  divine 
grace  all  gladly  go.  To  such  a  throne  they  draw 
near  with  boldness;  not  the  boldness  of  vain  self- 
confidence,  but  the  boldness  which  faith  in  God's 
graciousness  inspires.  Before  that  throne  they 
humbly  bow  in  the  happy  consciousness  that  the 
One  who  is  seated  upon  it  is  their  friend,  who  will 
not  spurn  their  prayers,  but  will  answer  them  "ac- 
cording to  the  exceeding  riches  of  his  grace." 

(2)  What  we  are  to  get  by  coming  to  the  throne 
of  grace. 

(a)  Mercy.  To  obtain  this  is  the  first  object  of 
our  coming.  Before  we  ask  for  anything  else  we 
are  to  ask  for  mercy  to  cover  the  sins  of  the  past. 
It  is  a  shallow  philosophy,  and  an  equally  shallow 
experience,  that  ignores  or  denies  the  reality  of  sin, 
and  hence  the  need  of  God's  forgiving  mercy. 

A  suppliant  sinner  can  deal  with  God  on  no  other 
footing  than  that  of  mercy.  Merit  is  ruled  out.  He 
can  claim  nothing  as  a  right,  but  must  ask  every- 
thing as  a  favor.  The  right  of  petition  which  is  his 
as  God's  child  must  not  blind  him  to  the  fact  that 
as  a  prodigal  child  he  must  come  confessing, 
"Father,  I  have  sinned,"  and  cast  himself  upon  the 
Father's  unpurchasable  mercy. 

In  the  course  of  justice  none  of  us 

Should  see  salvation;  we  do  pray  for  mercy. 

And  at  the  throne  of  grace  to  which  we  are  urged 
to  come,  mercy  may  be  found  when  sought. 


2o8  THE   PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

Apollonius  is  said  to  have  prayed  every  day, 
"O  ye  gods,  give  me  that  which  is  my  due."  Better 
instructed  he  would  have  prayed,  "O  God,  give  to 
me  that  which  is  the  very  opposite  of  what  is  my 
due." 

(b)  Grace  to  help  in  time  of  need.  By  coming 
to  the  throne  of  grace  not  only  are  the  sins  of  the 
past  blotted  out  through  the  mercy  of  God,  but 
grace  is  given  to  help  us  in  all  the  upward  struggle 
of  the  future.  The  grace  which  is  the  source  of  our 
salvation  is  also  the  source  of  our  help.  Not  the 
smallest  crumb  is  given  because  we  deserve  it.  It 
comes  to  us  as  the  expression  of  God's  benevolent 
love  to  the  undeserving,  and  the  ill-deserving.  It 
comes  in  abundant  measure;  and  can  meet  to  the 
full  every  possible  demand.  The  forms  in  which  it 
is  given  are  as  numerous  and  diversified  as  our 
needs.  It  is  given  as  restraining  grace,  as  con- 
straining grace,  as  upholding  grace,  as  enabling 
grace,  and  as  overcoming  grace.  It  is  suited  to 
every  possible  condition. 

This  all-sufficient  grace  is  given  for  the  asking. 
We  are  to  come  to  the  throne  of  grace  to  get  it. 
It  is  given  in  answer  to  prayer  in  the  measure  in 
which  we  are  prepared  to  receive  it  and  to  use  it. 
Never  can  the  need  of  it  be  outgrown. 

O,  to  grace  how  great  a  debtor 
Daily  I'm  constrained  to  be. 

And  because  I  need  it  daily  I  must  ask  for  it  daily, 
just  as  I  ask  for  my  daily  bread. 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES  209 

2.    The  Ever-Living  Intercessor. 

"Wherefore  also  he  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost 
them  that  draw  near  unto  God  through  him,  seeing 
he  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  them"  (Heb. 
7.  25).  According  to  the  writer  of  this  epistle, 
Christ  is  the  ideal  priest,  superior  to  Aaron  and 
every  other  priest,  not  being  "compassed  with  in- 
firmity," as  the  best  of  earthly  priests  are,  but  being 
personally  perfect.  He  is  also  an  eternal  Priest, 
not  being  subject  to  death,  but  living  for  evermore 
to  make  intercession  for  his  people. 

As  the  high  priest  of  humanity  he  is  near  to  God, 
and  thus  in  touch  with  all  the  sources  of  power. 
At  his  ascension  he  passed  through  the  lower 
heavens  to  the  highest  heaven,  into  the  immediate 
presence  of  God.  There  he  abides,  exercising  his 
mediatorial  power  on  behalf  of  those  who  are  strug- 
gling here  below  with  doubt,  and  fear,  and  sin.  In 
that  work  he  has  been  engaged'  since  his  ascension. 
His  relation  to  men  is  unchanged,  his  interest  in 
them  is  unabated;  his  sympathy  toward  them  is 
undiminished.  "The  love  that  bled  on  the  cross 
pleads  on  the  throne." 

Since  the  completion  of  his  priestly  sacrifice  his 
intercession  has  acquired  a  new  significance.  Upon 
his  atoning  death  his  intercession  rests.  Just  in 
what  ways  the  benefits  of  his  priestly  intercession 
reach  us  it  is  difficult  to  understand.  We  know 
only  in  part.  Influences  are  set  in  motion  which 
lie  beyond  our  ken.     One  benefit  which   is  here 


2IO  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

mentioned — and  it  is  the  greatest  of  all,  the  most 
inclusive  of  all — is  that  "we  draw  near  to  God 
through  him."  By  his  intercession  he  brings  God 
and  man  together. 

The  question  will  no  doubt  be  raised,  Why  is  the 
intercession  of  Christ  necessary?  Is  it  necessary 
to  move  the  Father's  heart,  or  to  change  the 
Father's  mind?  Assuredly  not.  It  is  not  a  method 
of  argument  or  persuasion;  much  less  is  it  a  legal 
formality.  It  is  the  kindly  service  of  a  friend  at 
court.  From  it  is  to  be  eliminated  much  that  per- 
tains to  intercession  among  men.  It  is  not  the  plead- 
ing with  one  who  requires  to  be  won  over,  but  the 
proffering  of  a  request  to  a  friend  who  delights  to 
give.  By  it  God  and  man  are  brought  into  a  state 
of  at-one-ment ;  heaven  is  opened,  and  kept  open ;  a 
permanent  channel  of  communication  is  established 
by  which  prayer  ascends  to  heaven,  and  the  fullness 
of  God's  love  and  saving  grace  descends  unrestrict- 
edly upon  every  receptive  soul. 

3.   A  New  Way  of  Approach. 

"Having  therefore,  brethren,  boldness  to  enter 
into  the  holy  place  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  by  the 
way  which  he  dedicated  for  us,  a  new  and  living 
way,  through  the  veil,  that  is  to  say,  his  flesh;  and 
having  a  great  priest  over  the  house  of  God ;  let  us 
draw  near  with  a  true  heart  in  the  fullness  of  faith, 
having  our  hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience : 
and  having  our  body  washed  with  pure  water" 
(Heb.  10.  19-22). 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES  211 

The  new  dispensation,  namely,  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation under  which  we  are  now  Hving,  intro- 
duced a  new  conception  of  prayer.  In  the  Gospels 
that  new  conception  is  represented  as  praying  in 
the  name  of  Christ,  here  it  is  represented  as  ap- 
proaching God  by  "a  new  and  living  way,"  which 
Christ  has  opened  for  us  into  the  holy  place.  In  the 
Old  Testament  the  approach  to  God  was  through 
the  blood  of  animal  sacrifices;  here  it  is  "through 
the  blood  of  Jesus,"  or  through  the  rent  veil  of  his 
flesh ;  his  death  breaking  down  the  barrier  to  com- 
munication with  God,  so  that  those  who  are  in  him 
are  raised  up  with  him  into  the  heaven-life,  and 
entering  with  him  into  the  throne-room,  have  their 
intercessions  taken  up  into  his,  and  thus  made 
prevailing. 

This  new  conception  of  the  approach  of  man  to 
God  in  prayer  is  set  forth  in  the  Bible  as  the  climax 
of  a  long  process  of  historical  development.  In 
the  beginning  of  things  we  find  worship  in  its 
simplest  and  purest  form  as  the  free  and  happy  con- 
verse of  man  with  God.  This  is  the  meaning  of  the 
story  of  the  Garden  of  Eden.  It  portrays  a  condi- 
tion of  direct  and  personal  contact  which  did  not 
last.  Sin  clouded  the  soul  and  drove  man  from  the 
presence  of  God.  As  the  sense  of  sin  deepened,  a 
sacerdotal  system  was  evolved  in  which  God  was 
approached  by  propitiatory  offerings.  That  system, 
with  all  its  imperfections,  had  a  distinct  educational 
value;  it  led  the  thought  of  man  by  gradual  stages 
to  an  understanding  and  appreciation  of  the  new 


212  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

and  living  way,  by  which  the  individual  soul  was 
to  be  brought  into  communion  with  God  without 
the  intervention  of  human  priest  or  sacrifice. 

The  new  way  which  has  been  opened,  and  in 
which  we  are  now  to  walk,  is  said  to  have  been 
"dedicated  for  us,"  that  is,  set  apart  for  our  use 
and  benefit.  We  have,  therefore,  a  right  to  use  it. 
The  privilege  of  approach,  the  freedom  of  access 
which  it  offers,  belong  to  us,  because  they  have 
been  obtained  for  us  through  Him  who  is  "the 
great  high  priest  over  the  house  of  God."  The  way 
having  been  provided,  how  are  we  to  enter  it? 

(i)  With  boldness.  The  boldness  which  we  are 
assumed  to  possess  is  net  irreverent,  foolhardy 
boldness,  but  the  boldness  which  springs  from  the 
knowledge  that  the  way  by  which  we  come  to  God 
is  free,  that  no  one  can  bar  us  from  it,  or  hinder 
us  from  entering  it. 

(2)  ''With  a  true  heart/'  That  is,  with  a  sincere 
heart,  a  heart  of  truth,  a  heart  true  to  its  deepest 
convictions  and  to  its  highest  ideals,  a  heart  true  to 
itself,  and,  because  true  to  itself,  true  to  God.  God 
desires  and  demands  of  every  suppliant  "truth  in 
the  inward  parts."  He  will  turn  away  from  that 
man  who  "pleads  the  cause  wherein  his  tongue  is 
confuted  by  his  conscience"  (Fuller)  ;  but  he  is 
"nigh  unto  all  that  call  upon  him  in  truth." 

(3)  "/«  fullness  of  faith/'  That  is  in  a  full- 
grown  faith,  springing  out  of  a  full-grown  revela- 
tion. The  passing  away  of  the  old  ceremonial 
system  which  had  stood  for  ages  was  disquieting 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES  213 

to  faith ;  but  since  in  its  place  came  a  better  system, 
founded  upon  better  promises,  there  was  ground 
for  the  creation  of  a  larger,  stronger,  and  richer 
faith.  To  those  who  came  into  the  knowledge  of 
Jesus  as  the  new  way  to  God  he  became  "the  per- 
fecter  of  faith."  Through  him  they  can  draw  near 
to  God  with  a  confidence  never  before  possible. 
Doubt  and  hesitancy  are  taken  away,  and  in  the 
clearer  light  that  has  dawned  there  is  produced 
"the  full  assurance  of  faith." 

(4)  'With  a  cleansed  heart"  "Having  a  heart 
sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience,"  that  is,  from  a 
conscience  polluted  by  the  guilt  of  sin.  The  puri- 
fications of  the  Levitical  priesthood  were  legal  and 
external;  the  purifications  of  the  Christian  priest- 
hood are  spiritual  and  internal.  They  have  to  do 
with  the  conscience,  the  center  of  moral  person- 
ality, cleansing  it  from  unholy  affections;  from 
pride,  from  selfishness,  from  malice,  from  sin  of 
every  kind,  thereby  making  us  fit  "to  appear  before 
the  face  of  God." 

(5)  With  a  clean  body.  "Having  our  body 
washed  with  pure  water."  This  condition  of  ap- 
proach had  a  meaning  to  the  Jewish  Christians 
which  it  has  not  to  us.  The  things  for  which  these 
ancient  lustrations  stood  was  the  need  of  purity 
within  and  without.  The  outer  life  is  to  corre- 
spond with  the  inner.  First  a  clean  heart,  then 
clean  hands,  or,  rather,  clean  hands  because  a  clean 
heart.  "Who  shall  stand  in  his  holy  place  ?  He  that 
hath  clean  hands,  and  a  pure  heart"  (Psa.  24.  3,  4). 


^14  THE  I'LACE  OF  PRAYER 

To   such   alone   the   door   of   the    inner   shrine   is 
opened. 

4.   Things  to  be  Assumed  in  Prayer. 

"He  that  cometh  to  God  must  beheve  that  he  is, 
and  that  he  is  a  rewarder  of  them  that  seek  after 
him"  (Heb.  11.  6).  Two  things  are  here  assumed 
as  belonging  to  acceptable  and  successful  prayer, 
namely : 

(i)  Belief  in  God's  personal  existence.  This  is 
fundamental,  for  prayer  is  founded  upon  the  reality 
of  God.  If  a  definition  of  prayer  might  be  ventured 
upon,  it  might  be  said  to  consist  of  the  reach  of  man 
after  the  Absolute  Reality,  and  his  conscious  con- 
nection with  that  Reality.  The  praying  soul  must 
first  of  all  believe  that  God  is;  he  must  look  upon 
him  as  the  eternally  living  and  abiding  One — im- 
mutable, unchangeable,  the  fixed  center  of  the  uni- 
verse and  the  fixed  center  of  his  soul.  Although 
he  cannot  see  him,  he  must  believe  in  him  as  the 
Infinite  Spirit  who  is  behind  and  in  all  things,  and, 
assuming  his  existence,  move  toward  him.  He 
must  deal  with  him  at  first  hand,  venturing  himself 
upon  him  and  opening  up  his  heart  to  the  incoming 
of  his  grace  and  power. 

(2)  Belief  in  God's  presence.  Those  who  be- 
lieve that  God  is  must  also  believe  that  he  is  present. 
According  to  Dr.  Robert  F.  Horton,  "Prayer  is 
simply  and  solely  the  realization  of  God" — ^the 
awareness  of  his  presence.  It  is  more  than  that; 
but  it  is  that  in  the  first  instance.    To  gain  a  realiz- 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES  215 

ing  sense  of  God's  presence  is  the  first  requisite  in 
prayer. 

(3)  Belief  in  the  sufficiency  of  prayer — ^belief  not 
only  in  God's  existence,  and  in  his  immediacy,  but 
belief  also  in  his  friendliness ;  belief  that  he  not  only 
can  help  but  that  he  is  willing  and  ready  to  help. 
Out  of  the  conviction  of  God's  friendship  prayer  is 
born.  Men  draw  near  to  God  because  they  believe 
in  his  personal  love,  in  the  stability  of  his  universe, 
in  the  reliability  of  his  word,  and  in  the  certainty  of 
his  being  fond  of  those  who  seek  him.  If  they  did 
not  believe  these  things  about  him,  they  would  not 
come  to  him  in  prayer. 

The  indispensable  thing  in  connection  with  prayer, 
then,  is  faith.  God  is  the  recompenser  of  those  who 
seek  after  him  earnestly,  perseveringly,  and  in  faith. 
Faith  pleases  him,  for  what  is  it  but  taking  him  at 
his  word?  It  sees  the  answer  from  afar,  as  given 
inwardly  before  it  is  given  outwardly.  Its  accom- 
panying signs  are  merely  incidental.  The  treasures 
which  it  secures  are  the  most  precious  that  God  can 
give,  and  make  for  the  enrichment  of  life  as  out- 
ward things  could  never  do.  By  lifting  our  thoughts 
above  earth's  cloudiness,  it  lightens  our  burdens, 
assuages  our  sorrows,  dispels  our  fears,  quickens 
our  love,  brightens  our  hopes,  and  changes  our  De 
Profiindis  into  a  Gloria  in  Excelsis, 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER  IN  THE  LIFE  AND 
WRITINGS  OF  JAMES 

James  the  Just,  the  Lord's  brother,  and  head  of 
the  church  in  Jerusalem,  was  a  man  of  crystalline 
purity.  He  was  something  of  an  ascetic,  and  lived 
a  life  of  spiritual  aloofness.  Tradition  has  it  that 
he  prayed  continually  in  the  temple  for  the  forgive- 
ness of  the  people,  spending  whole  nights  in  prayer, 
until  his  knees  became  hard  as  a  camel's.  With  a 
spirit  of  devotion  he  combined  a  passion  for 
righteousness,  resembling  in  this  respect  one  of  the 
ancient  prophets.  His  epistle,  which  supplies  a  high 
standard  of  Christian  ethics,  is  the  production  of  a 
pragmatist,  who  brings  every  doctrine  to  the  touch- 
stone of  experience.  To  this  test  he  subjects  the 
subject  of  prayer,  considering  it  in  a  practical  way 
as  related  to  daily  life. 

I.  Prayer  for  Wisdom, 

"If  any  of  you  lacketh  wisdom,  let  him  ask  God, 
who  giveth  to  all  men  liberally  and  upbraideth  not ; 
and  it  shall  be  given  him.  But  let  him  ask  in  faith, 
nothing  doubting"  (James  i.  5,  6). 

(i)  Consider  the  hypothetical  need.  "If  any  of 
you  lacketh  wisdom" — and  who  does  not?  "It  is 
not  in  man  that  walketh  to  direct  his  steps."  His 
216 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES   217 

wisdom  is  not  sufficient  to  solve  the  perplexing  prob- 
lems that  confront  him  day  by  day.  He  needs  a 
higher  wisdom  than  his  own  to  correct  his  judg- 
ments and  enable  him  to  make  proper  adjustments 
and  appraisements,  so  that  he  may  be  able  to  match 
means  to  ends  in  securing  the  highest  objects  in  life. 

(a)  "This  true  wisdom  is  from  above,"  and  it  is 
to  be  distinguished  from  that  which  is  from  below 
(3.  15-17).  It  does  not  come  by  nature.  It  is  not 
earth-born.  It  has  its  origin  in  heaven.  It  gives 
us  God's  viewpoint  touching  the  practical  things  of 
life. 

(&)  It  is  "spiritual,"  and  is  to  be  distinguished 
from  that  which  is  "earthly,  sensual,  devilish."  It 
has  to  do  with  things  in  the  upper  sphere,  as  earth- 
born  wisdom  has  to  do  with  things  in  the  lower 
sphere. 

(2)    How  is  it  to  he  obtained? 

(a)  By  asking  it  from  God.  He  is  the  fountain- 
head  of  wisdom.  He  is  the  only  one  who  can  guide 
man  aright  in  the  entanglements  of  life.  He  knows 
life's  true  goal,  and  he  knows  the  way  we  can  reach 
it. 

(b)  By  asking  it  from  God  with  unshaken  faith, 
staggering  not  at  the  promise.  Whoever  prays 
without  confidence  cannot  hope  that  his  prayer  will 
be  granted. 

(c)  By  asking  it  with  a  single  mind — and  not 
with  two  minds  in  conflict  with  each  other.  Doubt 
is  fatal.  He  that  doubteth  is  the  sport  of  his  own 
divided  mind,  being  "like  the  surge  of  the  sea," 


2i8  THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

which  the  wind  scatters  into  feathery  foam.  His 
divided  mind  breaks  his  prayer  into  atoms  and  keeps 
it  from  reaching  the  mark. 

(3)    How  is  it  given? 

(a)  Impartially.  "To  all  men,"  that  is,  to  all 
men  who  feel  and  confess  their  need  of  it,  and  seek 
it  in  prayer  from  God  the  Giver. 

{h)  Liberally.  Without  stint ;  and  with  no  limita- 
tions whatsoever  except  unwillingness  or  unreadi- 
ness to  receive  it. 

{c)  Graciously.  Without  upbraiding,  either  be- 
cause one  has  asked  too  often  or  too  much. 

The  gift  of  wisdom  is  not  bestowed  directly;  it 
is  not  poured  into  the  heart  as  water  into  a  vessel ; 
it  comes  through  the  operation  of  God's  grace,  in 
the  enlightenment  of  our  judgment  touching  the 
ordinary  experiences  of  life.  We  pray  to  him  for 
light,  and  trust  in  him  for  leading,  and  he  makes 
us  wise  in  his  own  wisdom — not  worldly-wise  but 
heavenly-wise — so  that  although  we  may  appear  to 
blunder,  and  may  even  be  accounted  the  world's 
fools,  yet,  touching  the  supreme  things,  we  shall 
make  no  mistake  and  shall  receive  the  commendation 
of  the  Master  of  men  for  having  chosen  the  good 
part  which  shall  not  be  taken  away  from  us. 

2.    Unoifered  and  Unavailing  Prayer. 

"Ye  have  not,  because  ye  ask  not.  Ye  ask,  and 
receive  not,  because  ye  ask  amiss,  that  ye  may  spend 
it  in  your  pleasures"  (4.  2,  3).  The  two  thoughts 
which  are  here  presented  are; 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES   219 

(i)  Loss  from  tmoffered  prayers.  "Ye  have  not, 
because  ye  ask  not."  Some  things  come  without 
our  asking ;  some  things  come  by  our  asking.  God 
wants  to  be  asked ;  he  waits  to  be  asked ;  he  loves  to 
be  asked ;  he  encourages  us  to  ask,  that  a  new  condi- 
tion may  be  suppHed  which  will  enable  him  to  give 
special  and  superabundant  blessings,  which  he  would 
otherwise  have  to  withhold.  Holy  desires  are  awak- 
ened within  us  by  the  operation  of  his  Spirit  upon 
our  hearts,  that  they  may  find  voice  in  prayer.  They 
are  calls  to  prayer ;  and  if  any  one  turns  a  deaf  ear 
to  them,  he  is  guilty  of  resisting  the  Holy  Spirit. 

We  speak  of  the  loss  sustained  by  kind  words 
unspoken  and  kind  deeds  undone;  equally  great  is 
the  loss  sustained  by  prayers  unprayed.  W(  have 
not,  and  others  have  not,  because  the  hand  of  re- 
straint has  been  put  upon  the  mouth  of  the  soul, 
and  the  impulse  to  pray  has  been  checked. 

(2)  Loss  from  wrong  prayer.  "Ye  ask  amiss," 
that  is,  ye  ask  with  a  wrong  intent,  from  a  wrong 
motive,  and  for  an  unworthy  end,  and  thus  miss 
the  mark  in  prayer. 

There  are  formal,  foolish,  selfish  prayers,  which 
fail  to  obtain  an  answer.  When  unanswered  the 
reason  is  found  in  our  praying  and  not  in  God's 
arbitrary  withholding.  If  a  wrong  thing  is  asked, 
or  a  right  thing  is  asked  for  a  wrong  purpose,  our 
prayer  is  mercifully  denied.  When  we  pray,  for 
instance,  for  wealth,  that  we  may  expend  it  in 
selfish  and  sinful  gratification  of  the  senses,  God 
may  deny  our  prayer,  that  he  may  save  us  from 


220  THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

our  own  undoing.  Never  can  we  know  from  what 
perils  he  may  have  saved  us  by  winnowing  out  our 
prayers. 

3.    God  Meeting  Man  More  Than  Half  Way. 

"Draw  nigh  unto  God,  and  he  will  draw  nigh  unto 
you"  (4.  8).  Prayer  is  not  an  individual  act.  It  is 
something  in  which  two  are  engaged — man  and  God. 
These  two  have  reciprocal  relations.  When  a  man 
meditates  or  soliloquizes  he  is  by  himself;  when  he 
prays  he  is  dealing  with  God,  and  God  is  dealing 
with  him.  Neither  is  passive ;  both  make  advances ; 
both  open  themselves  to  each  other ;  both  seek  to 
establish  commerce  between  one  another. 

To  this  reciprocal  relation  and  interaction  between 
man  and  God  in  prayer  the  words  before  us  refer. 
In  them  we  have: 

( 1 )  The  movement  of  man  Godward.  In  prayer 
man  is  not  only  drawn  upward  to  God,  he  moves 
upward  to  God.  With  an  instinct  strong  and  true 
as  nature  itself  he  seeks  after  him,  and  endeavors 
to  come  into  direct  and  personal  connection  with 
him.  He  has  been  "organized  for  God"  and  can 
find  his  true  life  in  him  alone.  He  has  wants  which 
none  but  God  can  supply,  desires  which  none  but 
God  can  gratify.  When  his  religious  nature  is 
awakened,  an  active,  persistent  search  for  God  is 
begun,  a  search  which  is  never  ended  until  the 
object  of  his  quest  is  found. 

(2)  The  movement  of  God  manward.  This 
thought  James  emphasizes,  making  it  the  ground  of 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES   221 

encouragement  in  prayer.  ''Draw  nigh  unto  God, 
and  he  will  draw  nigh  unto  you."  Every  move- 
ment on  man's  part  toward  him  is  met  by  a  more 
eager  movement  on  his  part  toward  man.  The 
search  of  man  after  God  is  the  underlying  fact  in 
all  religions;  the  distinguishing  glory  of  Christi- 
anity is  that  it  alone  presents  the  complimental 
truth  of  the  search  of  God  after  man.  It  reveals 
him  not  as  a  retreating  but  as  an  approaching  God, 
as  a  loving  Father,  who,  when  he  hears  the  wail  of 
his  lost  child,  hastens  to  his  side.  According  to 
Herrmann,  prayer  "must  have  direct  relation  to  the 
fact  that  God  turns  to  us,  and  not  away  from  us." 
But  not  only  does  he  turn  to  us,  he  follows  hard 
after  us,  places  himself  at  our  side,  and  gives  him- 
self to  us  for  the  asking. 

The  conception  of  God  drawing  near  to  man  is, 
of  course,  an  accommodation  to  human  limitations. 
We  know  that  he  is  never  remote.  The  world  pul- 
sates with  his  presence.  Over  every  soul  his  Spirit 
broods ;  to  every  cry  his  ear  is  open.  But  while  he 
does  not  require  to  come  to  us  from  a  distance,  he 
does  draw  near  in  the  sense  that  he  responds  to  our 
prayer.  To  every  pulse-beat  of  our  desire  there  is 
an  instant  answer  in  his  eternal  heart.  In  the  fact 
that  God  is  eternally  near  to  man  lies  the  possibility 
of  his  finding  him.  For,  as  Luther  remarks, 
"Before  thou  callest  upon  him,  or  seeketh  him,  he 
must  have  come  to  thee,  and  found  thee." 

He  will  meet  anyone  that  draws  nigh  to  him 
more  than  half  way,  and  will  press  up  to  him  as 


222  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

close  as  he  will  let  him.  If  anyone  turns  to  him, 
as  the  flower  turns  to  the  sun,  the  light  of  his  coun- 
tenance will  shine  upon  him;  if  anyone  opens  the 
door  of  his  heart  to  him,  he  will  enter  in,  bringing 
the  feast  with  him;  if  anyone  will  take  one  step 
forward,  he  will  take  two.  And  however  blindly 
and  stumblingly  anyone  may  pursue  his  search,  he 
cannot  forever  miss  him,  for  a  seeking  God  and  a 
seeking  soul  must  ultimately  meet. 

4.    The  Therapeutic  Value  of  Prayer, 

"Is  any  one  among  you  suffering?  let  him  pray" 
(5'  13)-  ^'Is  any  one  among  you  sick?  let  him  call 
for  the  elders  of  the  church,  and  let  them  pray  over 
him"  (5.  14).  'The  prayer  of  faith  shall  save 
him  that  is  sick"  (5.  15).  "Pray  one  for  another, 
that  ye  may  be  healed"  (5.  16).  Speaking  of  prayer 
for  the  sick,  Professor  James  says  that  "if  any 
medical  fact  can  be  considered  to  stand  firm,  it  is 
that  in  certain  environments  prayer  may  contribute 
to  recovery,  and  should  be  encouraged  as  a  thera- 
peutic measure."  To  the  same  effect  are  the  words 
of  Dr.  Hyslop,  the  celebrated  English  alienist,  "To 
counteract  the  miserable  sequels  of  a  diseased  mind 
I  would  give  the  first  place  to  the  simple  habit  of 
prayer."  Prayer  is  conducive  to  health  because  the 
attitude  of  the  mind  which  it  demands  reacts  favor- 
ably upon  the  body.  It  has  often  very  marked 
physical  results.  Its  soothing,  quickening,  comfort- 
ing influence  is  incalculable. 

But  its  influence  is  not  merely  reflex.    It  is  posi- 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES  22^ 

tive  and  direct.  It  affects  the  body  not  only  through 
the  law  of  suggestion  but  by  opening  the  soul  to 
the  source  of  power,  not  in  passive  receptivity,  but 
in  active  appropriation,  so  that  as  Sir  Oliver  Lodge 
affirms  "in  prayer  we  are  approaching  the  quicken- 
ing springs  of  the  life  of  the  flesh,"  and  are  thus 
putting  ourselves  into  the  proper  attitude  to  receive 
an  inflowing  of  divine  energy.  We  virtually  give 
an  invitation  to  the  Infinite  Life,  with  which  con- 
nection has  been  made,  to  enter  the  soul,  and  work 
within  it  and  through  it  with  all  his  healing,  recrea- 
tive power. 

According  to  the  teaching  of  James,  the  removal 
of  sickness  is  for  a  moral  end.  Nothing  is  said  by 
him  to  warrant  the  belief  that  the  recovery  of  the 
sick  will  always  take  place  in  answer  to  prayer; 
for  if  that  were  so,  sickness  would  be  soon  banished 
from  the  world.  The  following  conditions  of  pre- 
vailing prayer  are  clearly  indicated : 

(i)  The  person  who  is  sick  must  put  himself  in 
a  right  spiritual  attitude.  He  must  confess  his  sins, 
not  his  crying  sins  only,  but  his  secret  faults.  He 
must  get  right  in  heart  with  man  and  God.  Tertul- 
lian  has  well  said  that  his  confession,  if  real,  will  be 
prompted  by  the  desire  to  make  amends.  Without 
honest  confession — not  necessarily  the  auricular 
confession  to  a  priest,  but  the  confession  of  one 
Christian  brother  to  another — no  prayer  for  recovery 
will  prevail. 

(2)  //  his  sickness  is  a  result  of  sin,  his  sin  must 
be  repented  of  and  forgiven  before  his  healing  can 


224  THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

take  place.  The  statement  "If  he  have  committed 
sins,  it  shall  be  forgiven  him,"  shows  that  repent- 
ance must  do  its  work  in  bringing  him  into  the 
right  attitude  before  God. 

(3)  He  must  desire  to  he  healed.  That  desire  is 
expressed  in  sending  for  the  presbyters  of  the 
church — representative  men  of  faith  and  spiritual- 
mindedness — to  pray  for  him. 

(4)  The  prayer  offered  on  his  behalf  must  be 
the  prayer  of  a  righteous  man,  that  is,  a  man  who 
shows  his  faith  by  his  works ;  a  man,  who,  because 
he  is  right  with  God,  is  in  such  close  touch  with  him 
as  to  be  sensitive  in  every  fiber  of  his  being  to 
divine  impression,  and  in  the  fullest  harmony  with 
his  perfect  will. 

(5)  He  must  make  use  of  the  best  means  avail- 
able— administering  medical  agencies  in  faith;  in 
this  case  anointing  with  oil,  not  as  "a  sign  of  grace" 
but  because  of  its  supposed  therapeutic  value;  the 
efficacy,  however,  being  in  the  oil  by  reason  of  the 
divine  power  working  through  it.  It  is  "the  prayer 
of  faith"  that  saves  the  sick ;  and  the  oil,  while  used 
as  a  curative  agent,  is  applied  "in  the  name  of  the 
Lord." 

(6)  The  prayer  offered  for  the  sick  must  be  "the 
prayer  of  faith."  It  must  be  born  out  of  the  con- 
viction that  for  good  and  valid  reasons  of  his  own 
God  desires  the  recovery  of  the  one  who  is  sick. 
This  was  the  attitude  of  Luther  when  told  that  his 
friend  Myconius  lay  apparently  dying.  Immedi- 
ately he  fell  upon  his  knees  and  began  to  pray,  "O 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES  225 

Lord,  my  God.  No!  thou  must  not  take  yet  our 
brother  Myconius  to  thyself.  Thy  cause  will  not 
prosper  without  him.  Amen."  Luther  sought  the 
recovery  of  his  sick  friend  that  his  restored  life 
might  be  given  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  God  honored 
his  prayer  because  its  end  was  spiritual. 

When,  therefore,  anyone  prays  that  a  friend  may 
be  cured  of  sickness,  he  should,  when  urging  his 
request,  leave  God  to  judge  whether  the  prolonga- 
tion of  his  life  would  be  for  his  glory  and  for  the 
highest  good  of  all  concerned.  Meyer  reminds  us, 
with  regard  to  the  declaration  that  "the  prayer  of 
faith  shall  save  the  sick,"  that  "the  assurance  of 
healing  is  given  in  an  absolute  way;  but  that  all 
such  sentences,  with  regard  to  the  removal  of 
physical  evil,  need  to  be  interpreted  with  a  constant 
remembrance  of  the  supremacy  of  the  will  and  wis- 
dom of  God."  Hence.it  is  meet  and  right  to  leave 
every  case  to  the  disposal  of  the  All-Knowing  and 
All- Loving;  and  to  have  subtending  every  petition 
the  expressed  or  implied  condition,  "Not  my  will, 
but  thine  be  done." 

5.  Prayer  as  a  Working  Force, 

"The  supplication  of  a  righteous  man  availeth 
much  in  its  working"  (5.  16).  The  reading  of  the 
Authorized  Version,  "the  effectual  fervent  prayer 
of  a  righteous  man  availeth  much,"  carries  with  it 
the  implication  that  it  is  the  fervency  of  prayer  that 
renders  it  effective.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  how- 
ever, that  the  reading  of  the  Revised  Version,  which 


226  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

sets  forth  the  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  as  an  active 
force  working  for  the  accompHshment  of  definite 
ends,  in  the  sphere  of  things  within  which  it 
operates,  is  the  correct  one.  The  supplication  of  a 
righteous  man  energizes  powerfully,  and  "availeth 
much  in  its  working."  As  the  Cambridge  Bible 
puts  it,  "It  is  of  great  might  in  its  working."  Three 
things  are  here  plainly  asserted  regarding  such 
prayer:  (i)  It  availeth.  (2)  It  availeth  tmich. 
(3)  It  availeth  much  in  its  working.  It  is  active 
and  operant,  practical  and  efficient.  It  is  one  of 
the  mightiest  factors  by  which  the  divine  purpose 
of  redemption  is  wrought  out.  From  the  moment 
it  is  offered  up  it  begins  to  work.  It  introduces  into 
the  spirit-world  a  new  condition  of  divine  action ; 
it  creates  a  new  center  of  power,  it  sets  in  motion 
a  new  moral  potency ;  it  brings  to  bear  upon  some 
point  in  the  world's  life  a  new  healing,  saving  in- 
fluence ;  it  accomplishes  something  which  was  before 
impossible.  No  true  prayer  ever  returns  void  to 
the  one  who  offers  it  up.  After  it  is  made  it  goes 
beyond  his  reach,  working  in  spheres  to  which  his 
personal  influence  could  not  extend,  and  accom- 
plishing results  for  which  his  personal  power  could 
not  account. 

An  illustration  how  spiritual  forces  operate,  and 
of  how  far-reaching  their  effects  may  be  in  the 
physical  realm,  is  furnished  by  James  in  the  case  of 
Elijah,  in  answer  to  whose  prayer  the  heavens  were 
in  turn  sealed  and  opened.  This  man  who  tapped 
the  source  of  power,  and  achieved  results  which 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES  227 

only  the  working  of  Omnipotence  can  explain,  is 
said  to  have  been  "a  man  of  like  passions  with  us" — 
a  frail,  ordinary  mortal.  But  while  an  ordinary  man, 
his  prayer  was  not  ordinary.  It  had  behind  it  a 
divine  warrant,  the  cosmic  changes  asked  for  being 
in  harmony  with  "the  word  of  Jehovah."  The 
prayer  was  inwrought  by  the  Divine  Spirit,  and  was 
clearly  in  the  line  of  God's  revealed  purpose.  The 
thing  prayed  for  was  also  sought  from  a  high 
motive,  namely,  that  he  might  have  an  evidence  of 
his  prophetic  mission  that  would  bring  confusion 
upon  the  wicked  king  Ahab  and  honor  upon  the 
cause  of  Jehovah. 

Here  we  have  brought  to  view  the  only  satis- 
factory solution  of  the  relation  of  prayer  to  material 
things,  namely,  that  the  material  is  always  subor- 
dinate to  the  spiritual,  and  any  temporal  benefit 
asked  for  is  denied  or  given  in  order  that  some 
spiritual  end  may  be  gained.  Elijah  apparently 
prayed  for  control  of  the  forces  of  nature ;  what  he 
really  prayed  for  was  that  the  forces  of  nature 
might  be  operated  according  to  the  divine  will,  for 
the  highest  spiritual  ends.  His  prayer  was  answered 
because  it  was  offered  in  the  will  of  God  and  in 
harmony  with  his  purpose.  ^ 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER  IN  THE  LIFE  AND 
WRITINGS   OF  PETER 

Peter,  the  leader  and  spokesman  of  the  apostoUc 
band,  was  as  much  a  man  of  prayer  as  he  was  a 
man  of  action.  His  association  with  the  Master 
had  impressed  him  profoundly  with  the  importance 
of  prayer.  He  had  listened  to  the  Master's  teach- 
ings on  the  subject ;  he  had  also  been  witness  to  its 
power  in  the  life  of  the  Master  himself.  He  had 
been  with  him  at  Csesarea  Philippi,  when  in  the  hour 
of  his  deepest  dejection  he  received  strength  in 
prayer  to  enable  him  to  bear  his  burden  to  the  end. 
He  had  been  with  him  on  Mount  Hermon,  when  he 
was  transfigured  in  prayer  and  for  a  brief  moment 
had  shone  in  the  light  of  his  heavenly  glory.  He 
had  been  with  him  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane, 
when  in  the  agony  of  his  final  passion  he  had  prayed 
himself  into  perfect  acquiescence  with  the  divine 
will.  He  had  also  been  with  him  in  his  farewell 
meeting  with  his  disciples,  when  he  committed  them 
to  the  keeping  of  the  Father  and  prayed  that  they 
might  be  a  holy  and  united  people.  In  all  these 
experiences  there  must  have  developed  within  him 
an  ever-deepening  sense  of  the  worth  of  prayer  as 
an  element  of  power  in  a  victorious  life. 

In  his  own^liifiLpj:ayer  played  no  small  part.  To 
228 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES   229 

its  helpful  ministry  he  owed  much.  In  a  never-to- 
be-forgotten  hour,  when  his  feet  were  slipping  over 
the  brink,  the  Master  prayed  for  him  that  his  faith 
might  not  fail,  and  he  was  held  back  from  utter 
ruin.  After  the  Lord's  departure  he  was  present  in 
the  upper  room  to  wait  in  obedience  to  the  Lord's 
command  for  the  advent  of  the  Spirit.  Of  that 
company  he  was  doubtless  the  prayer  leader.  After- 
ward he  proved  the  power  of  prayer  in  many  ways. 
Through  his  prayer  Dorcas  was  restored  to  life; 
and  he  himself  was  prayed  out  of  prison  by  the 
disciples.  It  was  also  as  he  was  praying  on  the 
roof  of  Simon  the  tanner's  house  at  Joppa,  in  a 
time  of  great  conflict  of  soul,  that  the  vision  came 
to  him,  which  gave  him  a  broader  view  of  Christ 
and  his  kingdom,  and  fitted  him  to  proclaim  a  world- 
wide evangel  for  a  worldwide  conquest. 

Besides  influencing  Luke  in  writing  his  Gospel, 
which  gives  us  the  praying  Christ,  Peter  makes  his 
own  contribution  to  the  subject  of  prayer  in  words 
which  are  the  evident  fruit  of  his  own  experience. 
The  aspects  of  this  subject  which  he  presents  are  the 
following : 

I.   The  Priesthood  of  Believers. 

"Ye  also,  as  living  stones,  are  built  up  a  living 
house,  to  be  a  holy  priesthood,  to  offer  up  spiritual 
sacrifices,  acceptable  to  God  through  Jesus  Christ" 
(i  Pet.  2.  5).  With  the  introduction  of  Christi- 
anity the  priestly  office  and  the  bloody  sacrifice 
passed  away.     The  priestly  office  passed  away  be- 


230  THE   PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

cause  every  Christian  had  become  a  priest;  the 
bloody  sacrifice  passed  away  because  the  High 
Priest  of  humanity  had  given  himself,  once  for  all, 
for  the  sin  of  the  world.  Instead  of  a  select  priestly 
order  we  now  have  a  universal  priesthood  of  be- 
lievers ;  and  instead  of  slain  animals  laid  upon  smok- 
ing altars  we  have  spiritual  sacrifices — sacrifices 
which  have  a  spiritual  quality,  sacrifices  which  come 
from  the  heart  rather  than  from  the  hand. 

Sacrifice  of  some  kind  every  priest  must  offer, 
for  sacrifice  is  an  essential  element  in  priesthood. 
The  sacrifices  of  this  new  priesthood,  while  spiritual, 
are  not  on  that  account  shadowy  or  imaginary. 
They  are  real  sacrifices.  Whatever  be  their  out- 
ward form,  they  are  sacrifices  of  self  and  sacrifices 
of  life.  They  consist  in  part  in  the  sacrifice  of 
prayer,  which  is  the  chief  function  of  the  priestly 
office.  The  Christian  priest,  "joined  to  the  Lord 
in  one  spirit,"  expresses  in  his  intercession  for 
others  Christ's  priestly  sympathy  and  love.  His 
prayer  is  a  holy,  love-lit  flame  kindled  at  the  fire  of 
the  Lord's  passion;  it  is  a  costly  sacrifice,  "an  odor 
of  a  sweet  smell,  acceptable,  well-pleasing  unto 
God." 

The  priesthood  of  believers  is  a  holy  priesthood. 
The  Jewish  priest  had  to  have  an  unblemished  body, 
the  Christian  priest  has  to  have  an  unblemished  soul. 
As  the  secret  sin  of  Lancelot  rendered  futile  his 
quest  for  the  Holy  Grail,  so  sin  harbored  in  the 
heart  renders  futile  every  prayer.  Prayer  to  avail 
must  come  from  clean  lips  and  from  a  clean  heart. 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES   231 

2.   A  Hindrance  to  Prayer. 

"To  the  end  that  your  prayers  be  not  hindered" 
(i  Pet.  3.  7).  The  hindrances  to  prayer  are  legion. 
Here  the  reference  is  to  a  particular  hindrance. 
Peter  affirms  that  if  a  Christian  man,  in  the  tender 
and  intimate  relations  of  domestic  life,  does  not 
show  due  consideration  to  those  dependent  upon 
him,  and  especially  if  he  is  not  thoughtful,  kind, 
and  chivalrous  in  his  conjugal  relations,  living  with 
his  wife  on  the  higher  plane,  as  being  a  joint-heir 
with  her  of  the  grace  of  life,  showing  her  in  all 
things  proper  respect  and  honor  as  "the  weaker 
vessel,"  his  prayers  will  be  hindered ;  that  is  to  say, 
they  will  be  kept  from  mounting  to  the  throne  of 
grace,  either  dying  upon  his  lips  or  dying  by  the 
way. 

To  be  guilty  of  any  inconsistency  whatsoever,  to 
live  below  the  line  of  the  Christian  ideal,  is  to  have 
prayer  muffled  and  choked,  or  kept  from  reaching 
the  mark.  Careless  living  leads  to  ineffectual  pray- 
ing. It  is  the  life  that  prays,  and  "he  who  would 
pray  well  must  live  well.'*  When  anything  that 
ought  to  be  rendered  others  is  held  back  prayers  are 
held  back. 

To  pray  while  living  in  wrongdoing  is  to  spread 
sail  while  leaving  the  anchor  unlifted.  A  man  can- 
not let  himself  out  in  a  free  and  glad  communion 
with  God  unless  he  is  living  in  obedience  to  his 
will  in  all  things.  And  should  he  force  himself  to 
pray  before  putting  himself  right  with  man  and 


232  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

God,  squeezing  out  reluctant  words  by  the  pressure 
of  a  sense  of  duty,  his  prayer  will  be  hindered  from 
finding  the  goal  and  securing  the  answer. 

3.  A  Listening  God. 

"The  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  upon  the  righteous, 
and  his  ears  unto  their  supplication"  (i  Pet.  3.  12). 

In  these  words,  which  Peter  freely  quotes  from 
Psa.  34.  15,  the  divine  side  of  prayer  is  brought  to 
view.  We  have  an  all-seeing,  all-knowing,  all-hear- 
ing God,  whose  eyes  overlook  the  righteous,  taking 
note  of  all  their  movements  and  taking  note  of  all 
their  needs,  and  whose  ears  are  open  to  their  sup- 
plications (literally,  directed  toward  their  supplica- 
tions), being  eagerly  bent  to  catch  the  faintest 
whisper  of  desire  that  comes  from  their  Hps. 

The  Eternal  Father  is  never  too  busy  to  attend  to 
the  prayers  of  his  children.  The  affairs  of  the 
universe  do  not  absorb  his  attention  so  that  he 
cannot  give  heed  to  the  affairs  of  the  individual 
soul.  The  infinitely  small  comes  just  as  truly  within 
the  circle  of  his  interest  as  the  infinitely  great. 
Everything  that  concerns  his  children  is  to  him  a 
matter  of  concern.  Against  no  cry  of  need  are  his 
ears  closed.  When  from  the  remotest  corner  of 
the  earth  the  humblest  and  most  unworthy  creature 
of  his  hand  calls  upon  him,  he  "stills  the  harps  of 
angel  bands  to  hear  the  suppliant  sigh."  From  no 
one  does  he  ever  turn  away. 

The  context  shows  that  the  assurance  of  God's 
special  providence,  and  of  his  accessibility  to  the 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES   233 

suppliant,  is  given  to  the  righteous  to  enable  them 
to  realize  a  happy  and  satisfying  life.  Because  his 
eyes  are  favorably  directed  toward  them  they  are 
of  all  men  most  blessed.  Life  has  no  sweeter  solace, 
no  more  satisfying  delight  than  that  which  comes 
from  the  knowledge  of  God's  fatherly  care  and  his 
readiness  to  listen  to  every  supplication  that  may 
arise  from  our  burdened  hearts. 

4.   Sobriety  of  Spirit  in  Prayer, 

"Be  sober  unto  prayer"  (i  Pet.  4.  7).  The  inter- 
pretation of  these  words  which  have  narrowed  them 
down  to  the  abstinence  from  wine,  or  from  sexual 
indulgence,  is  faulty  in  the  extreme.  They  have  a 
much  wider  application.  They  were  written  in  view 
of  the  end  of  the  Jewish  age  which  was  at  hand, 
and  which  seemed  to  Peter  "the  end  of  all  things," 
to  exhort  the  followers  of  Christ  to  be  temperate 
or  self-controlled,  so  that  they  might  continue  in 
the  spirit  of  prayer.  The  social  break-up  which 
was  about  to  take  place  would  be  accompanied  with 
great  moral  disorder.  Men  would  throw  the  reins 
upon  the  wild  horse  of  their  passions,  and  give  way 
to  every  indulgence.  From  all  such  excesses  Chris- 
tians were  rigidly  to  abstain.  They  were  to  hold 
their  passions  in  leash,  and  preserve  a  frame  of  mind 
leading  up  to  prayer,  and  not  away  from  it.  By 
achieving  self-control  they  were  to  manifest  in  all 
things  a  sobriety  of  spirit  favorable  to  devotion. 

These  words,  therefore,  put  a  ban  upon  every- 
thing savoring  of  levity,  flippancy,  and  irreverence. 


234  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

Christians  are  not  to  be  intoxicated  with  worldly 
gayety,  plunging  into  the  whirl  of  social  dissipation, 
and  rushing  heedlessly  from  it  into  God's  presence. 
They  are  to  avoid  what  Brother  Lawrence  describes 
as  "amusing  themselves  with  trivial  devotions,"  and 
are  not  to  be  found  guilty  of  the  shamelessness  of 
quitting  converse  with  God  "to  think  of  trifles  and 
follies."  Rather  are  they  to  come  into  God's  august 
presence  in  a  thoughtful  mood,  curbing  their  way- 
ward and  wandering  thoughts  by  strenuous  effort 
of  the  will,  and  setting  themselves  in  order  to  listen 
quietly  and  reverently  to  his  voice.  Boisterousness 
of  manner,  extravagance  of  speech,  and  ebullition 
of  feeling  are  here  condemned.  The  praying  soul 
is  not  to  lose  hold  of  the  rudder  of  his  will  and 
allow  himself  to  be  swept  away  on  the  tide  of  his 
emotions.  He  is  to  be  self-restrained,  humble  and 
chastened  in  spirit,  simple  and  sincere  in  his  speech 
to  God.  He  is  to  obey  the  injunction,  "Be  not  rash 
with  thy  mouth,  and  let  not  thy  heart  be  hasty  to 
utter  anything  before  God;  for  God  is  in  heaven, 
and  thou  upon  earth:  therefore  let  thy  words  be 
few"  (Eccl.  5.  2). 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   PLACE  OF  PRAYER  IN  THE  LIFE  AND 
WRITINGS  OF  JOHN 

To  "the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved"  the  religious 
life  naturally  presented  itself  in  terms  of  personal 
friendship.  Beginning  with  divine  union,  it  is  con- 
summated in  divine  communion.  "Our  friendship 
is  with  the  Father,  and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ," 
is  the  keynote  of  his  teaching. 

It  was  to  this  high  plane  that  John  lifted  the 
exercise  of  prayer.  It  was  not  an  official  act  like 
that  of  a  priest,  but  something  natural,  familiar,  and 
free,  like  the  act  of  a  child.  The  word  orato,  which 
he  uses  for  "prayer,"  is  the  word  which  is  employed 
in  reference  to  the  praying  of  Jesus  to  the  Father. 
The  idea  which  it  conveys  is  not  that  of  entreating 
or  beseeching,  but  of  asking  or  requesting.  "It 
suggests,"  says  Dr.  G.  Campbell  Morgan,  "not  the 
petition  of  some  one  who  seeks  for  something  as  a 
favor,  but  the  petition  of  one  who  is  on  a  perfect 
equality  with  the  person  to  whom  it  is  presented." 
When  the  more  insistent  word  aieto,  "to  ask,"  or 
"crave,"  is  employed,  there  is  still  the  idea  of  friendly 
intercourse  with  one  willing  and  ready  to  give. 

The  references  to  prayer  in  John's  Gospel  have 
already  been  considered.  Let  us  now  glance  at 
what  is  said  on  the  same  subject  in  his  other  reputed 
writings. 

235 


236  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

I.   Oneness  with  the  Divine  Will. 

"Beloved,  if  our  hearts  condemn  us  not,  we  have 
boldness  toward  God;  and  whatsoever  we  ask  we 
receive  of  him,  because  we  keep  his  commandments 
and  do  the  things  that  are  pleasing  in  his  sight/' 
(i  John  3.  21,  22).  "And  this  is  the  boldness  which 
we  have  toward  him,  that,  if  we  ask  anything  ac- 
cording to  his  will,  he  heareth  us :  and  if  we  know 
that  he  heareth  us  whatsoever  we  ask,  we  know  that 
we  have  the  petitions  which  we  have  asked  of  him." 
(i  John  5.  14,  15).  When  the  manifold  objects  of 
human  desire  and  pursuit  are  reduced  to  one — ^the 
will  of  God — the  problem  of  life  and  the  problem 
of  prayer  are  simplified.  Prayer  has  then  for  its 
object  the  bringing  of  the  human  will  into  union 
with  the  will  of  God;  or  as  Dr.  A.  M.  Fairbairn 
expresses  it,  "the  establishing  of  harmony  between 
two  wills — God's  and  man's."  We  wait  upon  God 
to  know  his  will  and  to  become  pliant  to  its  de- 
mands. Our  prayer  is  not  an  effort  to  change  his 
mind  and  will,  but  an  effort  to  bring  our  minds  and 
wills  into  accord  with  his.  Its  object,  as  Bishop 
Hall  has  said,  "is  not  to  bend  God's  will  to  ours, 
but  to  raise  ours  to  God ;  it  is  not  to  change  but  to 
accomplish  the  divine  purpose."  We  are  prone  to 
go  back  on  God  when  he  refuses  us  anything,  just 
as  the  heathen  have  been  known  to  beat  their  gods 
when  their  prayers  were  unanswered.  All  this  is 
changed  when  we  see  that  prayer  is  not  the  defeat 
of  the  Father's  will  by  his  importunate  child,  but 
the    complete    submission    and    surrender    of    the 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES  237 

human  will  to  the  divine,  the  harmonizing  of  the 
human  will  with  the  divine.  That  this  may  be 
reached  the  history  of  religious  experience  testifies. 
Accepting  the  divine  will  in  all  things,  the  heathen 
philosopher  Marcus  Aurelius  exclaimed,  "O  uni- 
verse, all  that  thou  wishest,  I  wish."  Rabbi  Gama- 
liel is  reported  to  have  prayed,  "O  Lord,  grant  that 
I  may  do  thy  will  as  if  it  were  my  will,  that  thou 
mayest  do  my  will  as  if  it  were  thy  will."  And 
Jonathan  Edwards  has  the  following  entry  in  his 
Diary:  "Resolved  never  to  count  that  as  a  prayer, 
nor  to  let  that  pass  as  a  prayer,  or  as  a  petition  of 
a  prayer,  which  is  so  made  that  I  cannot  hope  that 
God  will  answer  it." 

In  Christian  prayer  the  desire  for  confirming  to 
the  Father's  will  is  most  pronounced.  It  underlies 
all  formal  requests.  Nothing  is  wanted  by  the 
child  which  the  Father  has  not  planned  for  him. 
His  blessedness  in  prayer,  as  in  everything  else,  is 
in  choosing  the  Father's  good  and  acceptable  and 
perfect  will. 

Believing  that  the  All- Wise  is  administering  the 
affairs  of  the  world  according  to  a  plan  which  is  too 
large  for  his  finite  comprehension,  he  adjusts  him- 
self to  things  as  he  finds  them,  and  steadfastly 
resists  every  selfish  prompting  to  pray  that  the  en- 
tire order  of  the  universe  may  be  reversed  for  his 
special  benefit.  He  has  no  desire  to  escape  what 
others  have  to  endure,  and  enjoy  what  others  are 
denied.  His  attitude  is  that  expressed  in  the  lines 
of  Phcebe  Gary, 


238  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

I  ask  that  not  for  me  the  plan 
Of  good  and  ill  be  set  aside, 

But  that  the  common  lot  of  man 
Be  borne  and  glorified. 

But,  according  to  John,  more  is  involved  in 
prayer  than  "asking  according  to  his  will":  an 
equally  essential  condition  is  that  "we  keep  his  com- 
mandments and  do  the  things  that  are  pleasing  in 
his  sight."  It  is  not  enough  that  his  will  is  accepted ; 
it  must  be  carried  out.  It  must  energize  in  and 
through  all  the  activities  of  life.  Work  and  prayer 
must  be  as  one.  Both  are  parts  of  life,  and  in  their 
union  express  its  fullness. 

2.   A  Limit  to  Prayer. 

"There  is  a  sin  unto  death:  not  concerning  this 
do  I  say  that  he  should  make  request"  (i  John  5. 
16).  John  here  draws  a  contrast  between  "a  sin 
unto  death"  and  "a  sin  not  unto  death,"  or  between 
what  has  been  called  venial  and  mortal  sin,  and 
says  that  the  former  is  to  be  prayed  for,  and  the 
latter  not.  The  reason  for  this  is  obvious.  A  sin 
unto  death  is  a  sin  against  the  Spirit's  saving  light, 
and  not  a  sin  of  ignorance;  and  as  such  it  is  one 
which  God's  mercy  cannot  overlook.  The  man  who 
commits  it  breaks  out  of  the  circle  within  which 
the  forgiving  grace  of  God  operates.  It  is  not  un- 
pardonable, for  no  sin  is  that;  but  it  is  forever  un- 
pardoned, because  it  implies  a  state  of  heart  which 
precludes  the  very  possibility  of  pardon. 

The  reason  why  we  are  not  to  pray  for  this  sin. 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES  239 

then,  Is  simply  this:  that  it  would  be  unbecoming 
to  ask  God  to  forgive  the  impenitent.  To  pray  that 
the  impenitent  may  be  led  to  repentance  would  be  a 
proper  prayer;  but  no  pious  soul  would  ask  God  to 
forgive  those  who  refuse  to  yield  to  the  sweet  and 
suasive  influences  of  the  Spirit.  Prayer  is  to  be 
restrained  in  the  presence  of  this  sin,  not  because 
there  is  a  limit  to  the  saving  mercy  of  God,  not 
because  an  ultimate  moral  state  has  been  reached 
from  which  there  can  be  no  recovery,  but  because 
the  impenitent  heart  is  not  in  a  condition  to  receive 
forgiveness. 

3.     A  Striking  Prayer. 

I    "Beloved,   I   pray  that   in  all  things   that  thou 

/mayest  prosper  and  be  in  health,  even  as  thy  soul 

/  prospereth"  (3  John,  verse  2).    This  friendly  greet- 

/    ing  which  John  sends  to  "Gains  the  beloved"  shows 

f     that  he  was  sure  of  his  spiritual  welfare,  and  with 

that  he  wished  his  outward  welfare  to  correspond. 

How  badly  some  would  fare  if  soul-prosperity  were 

made  the  measure  of  worldly  prosperity!     "This," 

says  Jay,  "would  be  a  dreadful  rule  to  many ;  for  if 

their  bodies  were  to  be  as  healthful  as  their  souls, 

their  dwelling  would  be  a  hospital,  their  bed  of  ease 

^     a  bed  of  languishing ;  they  would  be  blind,  for  they 

\   have   no    spiritual   understanding;    deaf,    for   they 

never  hear  the  voice  of  God ;  dead,  for  the  Spirit  of 

th^  living  God  is  not  in  them."     Of  course  the 

correspondence     between     the     bodily     and     the 

spiritual  states  can  in  any  case  be  only  partial.  The 


240  THE   PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

holiest  often  suffer  most  and  the  notoriously  wicked 
often  flourish  as  a  green  bay  tree.  Still,  there  is  a 
general  law  which  harmonizes  the  inward  with  the 
outward,  and  makes  it  meet  to  pray  that  the  one 
who  has  inward  good  may  be  blessed  with  outward 
good. 

4.  Prayers  Treasured  Up. 

"Golden  bowls  full  of  incense,  which  are  the 
prayers  of  the  saints"  (Rev.  5.  8).  In  this  text  we 
have  a  suggestion  of  the  enduring  power  of  prayer. 
The  fragrant  incense  which  fills  the  golden  censers 
swung  by  the  living  creatures  and  the  angels  before 
the  Lamb,  is  symbolic  of  the  treasured-up  prayers 
of  God's  people,  which  are  held  by  him  in  ever- 
lasting remembrance.  These  prayers  are  not  the 
intercessions  of  the  glorified  saints  for  the  church  on 
earth;  nor  are  they  works  of  supererogation  by 
eminent  saints  put  to  the  credit  of  others;  they  are 
the  prayers  offered  on  earth  by  all  who  were  washed 
in  the  blood  of  Christ  and  who  prayed  in  his  name. 
Not  one  of  them  is  forgotten  by  God.  The  answer 
to  them  may  often  be  delayed,  and  may  come  long 
after  they  have  been  forgotten  by  those  who  offered 
them  up ;  but  it  will  be  sure  to  come,  for,  as  Dr. 
Horace  Bushnell  has  said,  "All  true  prayer  is  im- 
mortal, a  living  power  that  never  dies  or  goes  out ; 
and  that  sends  out  its  fire  into  the  earth  forever 
after." 

Prayer  is  not  ended  when  it  is  uttered.  It  is  a 
stored-up  force  which  can  never  be  exhausted. ~^o 


IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLES   241 

the  power  of  prayer  no  bonds  can  be  set.  The 
influence  which  it  puts  in  motion  can  never  die. 
It  is  a  living  force  which  enters  into  the  life  of  the 
world,  uniting  the  past  and  the  present,  linking  us 
on  to  those  we  never  knew,  and  perpetuating  our 
influence  after  we  have  gone.  By  it  we  can  be- 
queath a  heritage  of  blessing  to  those  who  come 
after  us,  and  by  it  we  can  receive  a  heritage  of 
of  blessing  from  the  successive  generations  of  pray- 
ing souls  who  have  passed  on  before  us. 

O,  what  volumes  of  prayer  seem  to  remain  unan- 
swered! But  not  one  of  them  is  ever  really  lost. 
The  prayer  of  the  sainted  father  or  mother  still  lives, 
and  works  on  in  behalf  of  the  children  for  whom  it 
was  offered  up.  When  we  come  to  stand  before  the 
Lord,  and  the  seals  of  the  mysterious  Book  of  Life 
are  opened,  it  will  be  seen  that  not  one  prayer  fell 
to  the  ground,  but  that  every  true  prayer  became 
an  integral  part  of  the  divine  moral  order. 

5.  The  Final  Prayer  of  the  New  Testament, 

"Come,  Lord  Jesus"  (Rev.  22.  20). 

As  this  book  closes,  the  risen,  living  Lord  ex- 
claims, "Yea;  I  come  quickly,"  and  the  seer  of 
Patmos  sends  the  answer  back,  "Amen :  come,  Lord 
Jesus."  This  prayer  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord 
expresses  the  desire  and  hope  of  the  early  church  in 
view  of  the  desolating  judgments  which  had  already 
broken  out,  and  which  were  to  "shake  terribly  the 
earth."  The  furnace  of  persecution  was  being 
heated  sevenfold,  and  no  one  could  feel  sure  of 


242  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

escaping  its  devouring  flames.  So  severe  was  the 
sifting  process  that  Jesus  asks,  "When  the  Son  of 
man  cometh,  will  he  find  faith  on  the  earth  ?"  What 
the  final  issue  of  the  struggle  would  be  no  one  could 
forecast.  In  their  distress  they  called  upon  their 
absent  Lord.  They  believed  that  he  still  lived  and 
loved,  and  that  he  would  speedily  come  for  their 
deliverance.  Upon  his  personal  and  speedy  return 
all  their  hopes  were  centered.  The  prayer  for  his 
coming  was  constantly  upon  their  lips. 

The  church,  as  the  bride,  is  still  to  maintain  this 
waiting,  expectant  attitude.  She  is  to  keep  looking 
for  great  things  from  her  Lord.  She  is  to  pray  for 
his  coming,  not  in  outward,  spectacular  ways,  but 
in  the  manifestation  of  his  kingly  power  and  glory. 
To  him  she  is  eternally  united,  and  out  of  every 
struggle  he  will  bring  her  triumphant.  And  so, 
whatever  the  specialized  form  of  her  prayer  for  his 
coming  may  be,  the  essence  of  it,  the  heart  of  it,  will 
be  a  prayer  for  his  coming  in  the  glory  of  his  power, 
and  in  the  fullness  of  his  kingdom. 

And  just  as  the  Revelator  turned  the  promise 
of  the  Lord  into  a  prayer,  so  we  are  warranted  in 
turning  our  prayer  into  a  promise ;  so  that  when  out 
of  the  depths  we  cry,  "Come,  Lord  Jesus,''  we  may 
hear  the  hope-inspiring  reply,  "Yea,  I  come  quickly." 


PART  FIFTH 

THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER  IN  THE 
CHRISTIAN  CHURCH 


243 


CHAPTER  I 

PERSONAL  PRAYER 

O,  where  are  kings  and  empires  now, 

Of  old  that  went  and  came? 
But  Lord,  thy  church  is  praying  yet, 

A  thousand  years  the  same. 

The  Church  of  Christ  has  always  been  a  praying 
body.  Sometimes  the  rains  that  fill  the  springs  have 
for  a  season  ceased  to  fall,  and  the  river  of  her 
prayer-life  has  run  low ;  but  when  things  have  come 
to  the  worst  the  spirit  of  prayer  has  again  been 
poured  out,  and  a  revival  of  religion  has  followed. 

Knowing  the  worth  of  prayer,  the  church  has 
always  sought  to  promote  its  practice  among  her 
members.  She  has  inculcated  the  duty  and  magni- 
fied the  privilege  of  prayer ;  she  has  depended  upon 
it  as  a  vital  factor  in  her  life.  Some  of  her  best 
efforts  have  been  put  forth  in  its  cultivation.  In 
her  teaching  and  preaching,  in  her  literature  and 
art,  in  her  music  and  hymnology,  she  has  striven  to 
uplift  the  hearts  of  men  heavenward,  and  to  con- 
nect them  with  the  source  of  their  life  in  prayer. 
There  is  no  phase  of  the  prayer-life  to  which  she  has 
been  indifferent,  and  there  is  no  aid  to  devotion 
which  she  has  not  endeavored  to  employ.  A  con- 
sideration of  her  efforts  in  this  direction  will  bring 
before  us  a  review  of  the  various  forms  in  which  the 
245 


246  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

devotional  life  has  formed  expression.  It  will  repre- 
sent the  church  as  praying  "with  all  prayer  and  sup- 
plication," that  is,  with  every  form  and  variety  of 
prayer  and  supplication. 

I.  Private  Prayer, 

This  is  the  beginning  and  fountainhead  of  all  that 
pertains  to  the  spiritual  life ;  for  as  religion  consists 
in  personal  relations  between  man  and  God,  its  per- 
petuation and  growth  are  conditional  upon  the  cul- 
tivation of  that  relationship,  and  to  this  nothing 
conduces  more  than  the  practice  of  private  prayer. 
When  private  prayer  becomes  a  lost  art  spiritual  life 
declines.  The  real  strength  of  the  church  has 
always  come  from  her  praying  members;  by  them 
her  connection  with  God  has  been  kept  open,  her 
worship  saved  from  becoming  mechanical,  and  her 
ministries  from  becoming  ineffective. 
•j  It  is  a  sad  day  for  the  church  when  those  who 
compose  her  fellowship  do  not  take  time  for  private 
devotions.  And  never  was  the  need  for  times  of 
retirement  more  pressing  than  in  these  days  of 
social  delirium,  and  of  fierce  business  competition, 
with  their  resultant  nervous  overstrain. 

The  call  for  times  of  retirement  grows  increas- 
ingly urgent.  Without  them  the  upper  springs  run 
dry,  the  tree  decays  at  the  root,  and  religious  activ- 
ities become  superficial.  As  the  height  to  which 
the  pile-driver  is  raised  determines  the  force  of  the 
descending  blow,  so  the  height  to  which  we  rise  in 
fellowship  with  the  Eternal  determines  the  effec- 


IN  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH       247 

tiveness  of  our  service.  Power  for  service  comes  to 
those  who  tarry  long  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most 
High. 

2.  Silent  Prayer. 

This  is  prayer  before  speech,  prayer  without 
speech,  prayer  that  forever  remains  unspoken.  It  is 
a  small  part  of  one's  praying  that  gets  voiced  in 
words.  Heart-prayer  has  a  larger  place  in  Chris- 
tian experience  than  oral  prayer.  But  heart-prayer 
differs  from  mere  silence.  It  is  real  prayer,  prayer 
through  inward  speech  to  God,  prayer  in  which  the 
heart  speaks  while  the  lips  are  silent — a  spirit-voice 
audible  to  the  Father  of  spirits. 

In  the  Old  Testament  we  find  the  oft-repeated 
exhortation,  "Be  silent  before  him."  This  is  a  call 
to  still  all  outward  voices,  that  we  may  hear  him 
whispering  within.  But  sometimes,  as  Savonarola 
has  said,  "We  are  so  busy  talking  to  him  that  we 
have  no  time  to  hear  him."  He  has  something  to 
say  to  us  that  he  wishes  to  communicate  to  us 
directly;  he  wants  us  to  wait  for  his  message,  to 
wait  silently,  collectedly,  trustfully,  submissively ;  to 
wait  without  complaint,  without  impatience,  without 
wavering ;  and  to  wait,  above  all,  in  glad  expectancy. 

The  mystics  have  made  much  of  silent,  wordless 
prayer.  They  have  spoken  of  going  into  the  silence, 
"the  awful  silence  of  God."  They  have  held  that 
prayer  has  four  degrees:  the  first  being  simple, 
mental  prayer;  the  second,  the  prayer  of  quiet;  the 
third,  the  prayer  of  union ;  the  fourth,  the  prayer  of 


248  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

rapture  or  ecstasy.  "The  prayer  of  quiet,"  says 
Saint  Teresa,  "is  when  the  soul  understands  that 
God  is  so  near  to  hear  that  she  need  not  talk  aloud 
to  him." 

In  this  noisy,  loquacious  age  the  practice  of  the 
prayer  of  silence  is  greatly  needed.  Never  was 
counsel  more  timely  than  this :  "Call  in  your  heart, 
commune  oft  with  yourself  and  with  God;  be  less 
abroad,  more  within,  more  alone"  (Leighton). 
Wait  with  hushed  heart  for  the  Father's  voice. 
Wait  in  silence  when  you  come  to  a  point  where 
speech  is  vain.  That  soul  is  poor  indeed  whose 
experience  does  not  at  times  transcend  the  use  of 
words.  In  the  heart  are  unutterable  things.  What 
lover  can  tell  all  his  love?  And  what  prayer  can 
express  all  the  need  and  longing  of  a  heart  ?  Love 
gives  to  God  perfect  understanding.  "He  listens  to 
the  very  breathing  of  our  hearts"  (Bushnell).  "He 
is  never  deaf  but  when  man's  heart  is  dumb" 
(Francis  Quarles).  He  interprets  the  spirit's  voice 
when  the  lips  are  mute. 

And  when  in  silent  awe  we  wait, 

And  word  and  sign  forbear, 
The  hinges  of  the  golden  gate 

Move  soundless  to  our  prayer. 

3.  Ejaculatory  Prayer, 

"Prayer  darted  up  to  heaven  on  emergent  occa- 
sions"— prayer  that  leaps  from  the  heart  as  we 
follow  the  plow,  bend  over  the  desk,  toil  in  the 
workshop,  or  follow  any  of  life's  avocations. 


IN  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH      249 

And  not  alone  in  emergencies,  or  in  the  strain  or 
struggle  of  life,  is  there  to  be  the  momentary  uplift- 
ing of  the  heart,  and  the  going  up  of  an  inarticulate 
cry  for  help.  Every  new  circumstance  that  arises 
should  call  forth  a  prayer.  The  habit  should  be 
formed  of  talking  to  God  about  everything.  And  as 
the  habit  grows  the  sending  upward  of  arrowlike 
petitions  will  take  place  without  conscious  effort, 
and  ejaculatory  prayer  will  become  free,  sponta- 
neous, and  unconstrained,  as  all  prayer  should  be. 

4.  Oral  Prayer. 

This  is  of  two  kinds — occasional  prayer,  and 
prayer  at  set  times.  All  men  have  had  crises  and 
exigencies  in  their  lives  when  they  "have  caught  at 
God's  skirts  and  prayed."  Prayer  is  often  forced 
out  of  the  soul  by  the  pressure  of  some  great  trial ; 
it  is  often  the  last  resource  in  the  stress  of  some 
great  need.  There  are  conditions  of  life  when  the 
only  thing  left  to  do  is  to  pray. 

The  other  kind  of  prayer,  namely,  prayer  as  a 
fixed  habit,  is  prayer  in  its  usual  and  normal  form.  A 
praying  man  is  one  who  in  the  practice  of  prayer  ties 
himself  down  to  stated  times  and  seasons ;  he  is  one 
who  by  acts  of  repetition  cuts  channels  into  which 
the  stream  of  his  prayer  may  be  directed.  When  his 
interest  fluctuates,  and  he  does  not  feel  inclined  to 
pray,  he  will  still  keep  up  the  habit,  knowing  that 
the  less  inclined  he  is  to  pray  the  more  does  he  need 
to  pray.  "If  a  man  does  not  pray  at  definite  times, 
and  that  daily,"  says  Dr.  Alexander  McLaren,  "he 


250  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

may  talk  as  he  likes  about  all  life  being  worship,  but 
any  time  will  soon  come  to  be  no  time." 

All  the  great  religions  have  felt  the  necessity  of 
appointing  fixed  hours  for  prayer ;  and  to  the  faith- 
ful observances  of  these  prescribed  times  of  prayer 
they  have  largely  owed  their  perpetuation.  The 
Jews  were  enjoined  to  pray  three  times  a  day, 
namely,  at  the  third,  the  sixth,  and  the  ninth  hours, 
and  for  a  time  the  Jewish  converts  to  Christianity, 
remaining  as  they  did  within  the  pale  of  Judaism, 
followed  that  custom.  And  if  Christianity  laid 
down  no  set  times  and  seasons,  it  was  because  every 
one  was  expected  to  do  that  for  himself.  He  might, 
in  the  freedom  of  the  spirit,  elect  to  pray  at  the 
opening  and  closing  of  the  day,  or  "at  evening,  at 
morning,  and  at  noonday";  but  at  his  soul's  peril 
he  dare  not  neglect  to  keep  up  the  habitual  practice 
of  prayer. 

It  is  significant  how  little  Jesus  has  to  say  about 
the  technique  of  prayer,  his  instruction  on  this  point 
being  confined  to  one  lesson.  It  was  evidently  his 
design  that  we  should  learn  to  pray  just  as  we  learn 
to  speak  or  to  walk.  It  is  an  open  question  how  far 
forms  of  prayer  are  helpful ;  and  the  fact  that  they 
have  not  been  provided  shows  that  they  are  not 
indispensable.  While  their  use  is  not  forbidden,  on 
no  account  must  they  be  allowed  to  impede  the 
movements  of  the  free  spirit.  As  crutches  for  the 
infirm  and  the  lame,  prayer-forms  may  often  be  of 
great  service;  but  prayer  at  its  highest  transcends 
the  use  of  set  forms,  and  is  the  natural  expression  of 


IN  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH       251 

personal  desire,  offered  up  in  the  joy  and  liberty  of 
conscious  fellowship  with  God. 

Only  the  merest  hints  are  given  of  how  prayer 
began  to  shape  itself  in  the  early  church.  In  i  Tim. 
2.  I  we  find  what  is  perhaps  the  earliest  rudiments 
of  an  order  of  prayer;  namely,  "supplications, 
prayers,  intercessions,  thanksgivings" ;  but  this  list 
is  by  no  means  complete.  No  stereotyped  order  is 
to  be  followed ;  yet  it  is  generally  agreed  that  prayer 
contains  the  following  constituent  elements : 

(i)  Adoration.  This  primary  feeling  comes  from 
a  contemplation  of  the  character  of  God.  Worship 
is  worth-ship.  Mingled  feelings  of  awe  and  fear, 
of  wonder  and  love,  take  possession  of  the  praying 
soul,  as  the  vision  of  God's  essential  glory  breaks 
upon  his  sight.  All  that  is  within  him  goes  out  to 
bless  and  magnify  his  holy  name. 

(2)  Thanksgiving.  Ascriptions  of  praise,  born 
of  a  realization  of  what  God  is,  are  followed  by 
"thankful  acknowledgement  of  his  mercies,"  past 
and  present.  The  feeling  of  gratitude  is  heightened 
by  a  sense  of  personal  unworthiness.  God's  gifts  are 
gifts  of  grace — "mercies,"  favors  bestowed  upon  the 
undeserving ;  and  as  such  they  call  for  thankfulness 
unmeasured. 

(3)  Confession.  This  should  be  sincere  and 
heart-deep.  It  should  also  be  explicit;  being  the 
confession  not  of  sinfulness  but  of  sin  in  particular. 
The  confessor  should  say,  with  Achan,  "Thus  and 
thus  have  I  done" ;  or,  with  the  penitential  psalmist, 
"Against  thee,  thee  only  have  I  sinned,  and  done 


2i±  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

this  evil  in  thy  sight."  From  such  confession  comes 
comfort.  "We  show  God  in  confession  our  souls 
as  we  see  them,"  says  Dr.  A.  M.  Fairbairn,  "that 
he  may  show  them  to  us  as  he  sees  them." 

(4)  Petition.  This  is  the  most  conspicuous  ele- 
ment in  prayer.  It  takes  on  various  forms,  and 
exists  in  various  degrees  of  intensity.  It  may  be 
the  simple  expression  of  a  wish,  as  in  2  Cor.  13.  7 — 
"Now  we  pray  that  ye  do  no  evil."  It  may  be  the 
offering  up  of  a  specific  and  heartfelt  desire,  as  in 
Luke  22.  32,  when  the  Master  says  to  Peter,  "I  made 
supplication  for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not."  It 
may  mean  asking,  craving,  begging,  as  in  the  words, 
"Of  which  of  you  that  is  a  father  shall  his  son  ask  a 
loaf,  and  he  give  him  a  stone?"  (Luke  11.  11.)  It 
may  mean  the  confidence  and  freedom  in  making 
requests  that  belong  to  filial  relations,  as  in 
I  John  5.  14,  "This  is  the  boldness  which  we  have 
toward  him,  that,  if  we  ask  anything  according  to 
his  will,  he  heareth  us."  It  may  also  mean  interced- 
ing in  the  sense  of  pleading  or  entreating  in  behalf 
of  others,  as  in  the  exhortation  of  Paul  that  inter- 
cessions be  made  for  all  men  (i  Tim.  2.  i).  The 
separate  Greek  words  employed  in  these  cases  pre- 
sent finely  shaded  varieties  of  thought,  but  in  them 
all  the  petitioning  element  is  present.  Something 
is  desired,  something  is  asked  for.  Definite  and 
particular  requests  are  made,  in  the  assurance  that 
God  will  be  moved  by  the  prayer  of  his  children,  and 
that  what  is  sought  will  be  given. 

(5)  To  these  four  elements  should  be  added  a 


IN  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH       253 

fifth,  namely,  Communion.  A  praying  man  is  not 
always  asking  or  beseeching,  often  times  he  is 
simply  communing;  or,  as  the  Mystics  would  say, 
"engulfed  in  God."  He  has  no  special  request  to 
make.  He  wants  God  himself,  and  he  opens  his  soul 
to  him  as  the  flower  to  the  sun.  If  he  has  the  con- 
sciousness of  his  presence,  he  wants  nothing  more. 
His  attitude  may  be  illustrated  by  that  of  one  of  Mr. 
Moody's  children,  a  boy  of  five,  who  came  into  his 
study  one  day  as  hir'saTwriting.  Unwilling  to  be 
interrupted,  the  father  asked,  gruffly,  "What  do  you 
want?"  "Nothing  except  to  be  with  you,  father," 
replied  the  child.  There  are  times  when  to  be  in 
fellowship  with  the  heavenly  Father  is  all  that  his 
praying  child  desires.  In  the  joy  of  communion  he 
may  even  forget  to  refer  to  him  the  things  with 
which  his  heart  is  burdened. 

If,  in  the  act  of  prayer,  the  outward  form  and 
arrangement  of  words  is  immaterial,  much  more  is 
the  attitude  of  the  body.  In  the  New  Testament  we 
find  every  conceivable  posture  adopted.  Some  of 
these  were  evidently  taken  over  from  other  reli- 
gions.   The  three  prevailing  postures  were : 

(a)  Standing.  As  in  Mark  11.  25,  where  Jesus 
says,  "Whensoever  ye  stand  praying,  forgive,  if  ye 
have  ought  against  any  one."  This  attitude  was 
sometimes  accompanied  by  the  lifting  up  of  the 
hands  (i  Tim.  2.  8),  or  by  the  lifting  up  of  the 
eyes  (John  11.  4).  It  is  the  only  posture  found  in 
early  Christian  art,  as  represented  in  the  Catacombs. 
To  stand  erect  with  bared  head  in  the  presence  of 


254  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

God  is  expressive  at  once  of  dignity  and  rever- 
ence. 

(b)  Kneeling.  As  in  the  case  of  Jesus  (Luke 
22.  41)  ;  of  Stephen  (Acts  7.  30) ;  of  Paul  (Acts  3. 
14) ;  and  of  Peter  (Acts  9.  40).  The  kneehng 
posture,  which  is  now  the  prevaiHng  one,  is  humble 
and  reverential,  the  bending  of  the  knees  being  sym- 
bolical of  the  bending  of  the  heart  before  God. 

(c)  Prostrating.  Falling  on  the  face  upon  the 
ground  in  agony,  or  under  tense  emotion,  as  in  the 
case  of  Jesus,  when  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane  he 
**fell  on  his  face,  and  prayed"  (Matt.  26.  39).  This 
posture  is  generally  expressive  of  extreme  self- 
abasement  or  of  overwhelming  awe. 

But  while  all  of  these  postures  are  in  their  place 
seemly  and  fitting,  no  particular  posture  has  been 
prescribed.  "Where  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there 
is  Hberty"  (2  Cor.  3.  17).  There  is  a  holy  indiffer- 
ence to  the  attitude  of  the  body,  the  state  of  the 
heart  toward  God  being  the  one  thing  essential. 

Everything  goes  to  show  that  nothing  that  is  out- 
ward belongs  to  the  essence  of  religion.  "The 
fashion"  or  outward  form  of  religion  passes  away; 
only  that  which  is  spiritual  endures.  Not  the  form 
but  the  spirit  of  prayer  is  the  thing  of  supreme  con- 
cern. We  may  cultivate  correct  forms  without 
developing  the  prayer  spirit ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  form  may  be  faulty  and  the  language  larne,  yet 
the  prayer  may  be  full  of  power.  Better  dispense 
with  form  altogether  than  that  prayer  should  become 
formal  and  mechanical.    "When  thou  prayest,"  says 


IN  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH       255 

Bunyan,  "rather  let  thy  heart  be  without  words  than 
thy  words  without  heart."  We  are  not  to  "pray  by 
heart,  but  with  the  heart."  But  the  ideal  condition 
is  that  in  which  the  heart  and  the  mouth  are  in 
accord;  and  the  words  of  the  mouth  and  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  of  the  heart  are  alike  accept- 
able unto  God. 


CHAPTER  II 
FAMILY  PRAYER 

The  family  is  the  social  unit,  and  family  prayer 
is  the  form  in  which  the  social  instinct,  when 
touched  by  religion,  begins  to  function.  Family 
prayer  is  something  to  which  the  Spirit  of  God  in- 
variably prompts,  and  hence  something  for  which 
a  positive  command  would  be  superfluous.  When 
two  Christian  people  unite  together  in  holy  wedlock, 
and  begin  home  building,  their  first  and  deepest 
impulse  is  to  erect  a  family  altar.  Alas  that  this 
heaven-born  impulse  should  be  so  often  stifled ! 

The  place  which  the  family  occupies  in  the  Chris- 
tian economy  has  great  need  of  being  clearly  defined 
in  the  present  day.  We  have  come  to  give  such 
prominence  to  individualism  in  religion  that  the 
relation  of  the  family  to  God's  plan  is  scarcely  any 
longer  thought  of,  and  yet  no  Scripture  truth  shines 
out  more  luminously  than  that  families  in  their  cor- 
porate character  sustain  peculiar  relations  to  God, 
relations  which  imply  peculiar  advantages  and  re- 
sponsibilities. God  is  not  the  God  of  individuals 
only,  he  is  also  the  God  of  "all  the  families  of  the 
earth." 

The  end  for  which  the  institution  of  the  family 
was  ordained  was  that  God  might  secure  "a  godly 
seed,"  and  this  cannot  be  done  if  family  worship  be 
256 


IN  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH      257 

neglected.  It  is  not  enough  to  have  worship  in  the 
family;  there  must  also  be  family  worship.  God  is 
to  be  recognized  by  the  family  in  its  united  capacity. 
The  father  as  priest  of  the  family  is  to  pray  with 
and  for  his  children.  Sometimes  these  priestly 
duties  devolve  upon  the  mother,  and  no  altar  is 
holier  than  the  knees  of  a  praying  mother.  In  either 
case  parenthood  is  never  so  exalted  as  when  per- 
forming its  priestly  office  within  the  charmed  circle 
of  the  home. 

The  present-day  decline  in  family  worship  is 
something  to  be  accounted  for.  It  is  generally  attrib- 
uted to  a  decline  in  spiritual  interest.  But  this  is 
not  always  the  case.  In  many  instances  it  has  come 
from  an  attempt  to  keep  up  forms,  which  in  the  rush 
of  modern  life  call  for  modification  and  change. 
The  habit  of  family  worship  will  not  be  recovered 
until  it  is  adapted  to  existing  conditions.  The  long 
and  leisurely  and  often  dreary  exercises  of  our  fore- 
fathers are  no  longer  suitable.  What  is  needed  is 
something  brief  and  bright ;  the  repeating  it  may  be 
of  a  few  favorite  texts,  and  the  lifting  up  of  the 
heart  in  a  few  words  of  prayer — enough  to  enable 
the  members  of  the  family  to  stoop  down  and  quaff 
a  cupful  of  the  water  of  life  before  rushing  out  into 
the  fray.  The  simpler  and  more  informal  the  exer- 
cises are,  the  better.  In  many  instances  it  will  be 
that  or  nothing.  But  let  no  one  despise  any  method 
that  maintains  the  religious  unity  of  the  home. 

The  family  is  the  germ  of  the  church.  The  ideal 
churcli  is  not  an  aggregation  of  individuals  but  of 


258  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

families.  The  highly  individualistic  institution 
which  at  present  stands  for  the  body  of  Christ  comes 
far  short  of  the  divine  ideal.  The  ideal  church  is 
itself  a  large  household,  including  smaller  family 
groups,  within  which  and  by  which  God  is  wor- 
shiped. 


CHAPTER  III 
SOCIAL  PRAYER 

Prayer  is,  first  of  all,  a  personal  act,  founded 
upon  personal  relations  existing  between  God  and 
man;  but  it  soon  goes  beyond  that,  and  becomes  a 
social  act,  not  of  the  family  only  but  of  the  larger 
social  group,  and  finally  of  the  entire  Christian  com- 
munity. It  is  in  this  social  form  that  it  finds  the 
fullness  of  its  expression  and  the  fullness  of  its 
power. 

One  thing  which  characterized  the  early  followers 
of  Jesus  was  their  togetherness.  They  were  drawn 
together,  they  worked  together.  The  strongest  co- 
hesive power  in  their  united  life  was  prayer.  When 
any  one  was  converted,  not  only  did  he  begin  to  pray 
but  he  joined  himself  to  other  praying  souls;  and 
thus  through  the  working  of  the  social  principle  the 
sacred  fire  was  spread,  and  the  life  of  the  Spirit  was 
kept  burning  within  the  heart  of  the  church. 

The  institution  which  in  the  modern  church  takes 
us  back  to  the  fountain  form  of  social  worship  is 
the  prayer  meeting.  That  perhaps  comes  nearer  to 
the  simple,  free,  and  informal  gatherings  of  the 
primitive  church  than  anything  to  be  found  in  the 
life  of  the  church  to-day.  The  prayer  meeting  has 
had  an  honorable  history ;  it  is  connected  with  hal- 
lowed memories,  and  has  been  a  source  of  spiritual 
power.  In  its  present  form  it  is  comparatively 
259 


26o  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

modern.  That  it  is  not  an  indispensable  feature  in 
the  life  of  the  church  is  shown  from  the  fact  that 
many  churches  have  flourished  without  it.  No 
matter  how  useful  it  has  been  in  the  past,  if  it  has 
outlived  its  usefulness,  it  must  go.  Its  past  useful- 
ness affords  no  justification  for  its  present  existence. 
Like  every  other  institution,  it  must  continue  to 
justify  its  right  to  live. 

That  the  old-fashioned  prayer  meeting  has  fallen 
upon  evil  days ;  that  it  has  become  moribund — ^hav- 
ing a  name  to  live  while  it  is  dead — is  in  many 
instances  sadly  true.  And  in  still  more  instances, 
while  not  exactly  dead,  it  lives  at  a  poor,  dying 
rate,  and  is  the  least  satisfactory  feature  in  the 
life  of  the  church.  Its  existence  is  perpetuated 
by  a  saving  remnant,  who  support  it  from  a  sense  of 
duty.  And  yet  when  some  iconoclast  advocates  its 
abolishment  the  loudest  outcry  is  often  raised  by 
those  who  do  nothing  to  sustain  it. 

It  used  to  be  said  that  the  prayer  meeting  of  a 
church  is  the  pulse  of  its  piety,  but  that  test  is  no 
longer  a  true  one.  In  the  ordinary  church  there  is 
a  great  deal  of  piety  that  does  not  find  expression 
through  the  prayer  meeting.  There  are  many  ear- 
nest Christians  to  whom  it  has  no  spiritual  value 
whatsoever.  Nor  do  they  suffer  any  compunctions 
of  conscience  for  leaving  it  out  of  the  circle  of  their 
interests.  As  it  now  exists  it  has  lost  to  them  all 
power  of  appeal. 

Within  many  a  church  circle  the  question  is 
raised,  What  shall  we  do  with  the  prayer  meeting? 


IN  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH       261 

Must  it  be  given  up,  or  set  aside  for  something 
better  ?  Shall  we  transform  it  into  a  social  meeting, 
or  into  a  meeting  for  Bible  study,  or  into  a  meeting 
for  the  discussion  of  practical  social  questions?  It 
is  usually  assumed  that  there  is  no  use  trying  to 
continue  the  prayer  meeting  in  its  present  form,  and 
that  it  must  be  changed  so  as  to  be  adapted  to  pres- 
ent-day conditions.  Whether  or  not  that  be  true,  the 
mere  change  of  methods  will  not  go  down  to  the 
root  of  the  trouble.  The  fundamental  need  is  a 
revival  of  the  spirit  of  prayer.  The  church  has  too 
largely  ceased  to  believe  in  prayer  as  necessary  to 
the  development  of  spiritual  power.  She  has  come 
to  trust  in  outside  things.  She  has  been  told  that 
within  the  sphere  of  political  action  ballots  are  more 
effectual  than  prayers,  and  that  the  primary  ought 
to  be  put  before  prayer  meeting — with  the  result 
that  the  prayer  meeting  has  been  neglected. 

To  regain  its  place  of  power  the  prayer  meeting 
must  not  only  be  brought  into  adjustment  to  new 
conditions — it  must  be  reborn.  When  the  breath  of 
the  Divine  Spirit  is  breathed  into  the  church  it  will 
be  once  more  upon  its  knees.  On  foreigri. .fields, 
where  new  chapters  are  added  to  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  the  prayer  meeting  reappears.  And  in  the 
home  churches  it  springs  into  new  life  in  times  of 
revival.  When  Spirit-led  its  atmosphere  is  changed, 
and  however  much  its  methods  may  be  modified,  it 
continues  to  be  a  prayer  meeting.  With  the  quick- 
ening of  the  life  of  the  church  the  problem  of  the 
prayer  meeting  is  solved. 


CHAPTER  ly 
PUBLIC  PRAYER 

That  is,  prayer  as  connected  with  public_wor- 
ship;  or  what  has  been  called  "common  and  open 
prayer,"  to  distinguish  it  from  private  prayer. 

In  the  religion  of  the  Jews  common  and  open 
prayer  had  a  prominent  place.  The  three  sanctu- 
aries in  which  Jewish  worship  was  held,  namely,  the 
proseuchce,  the  synagogue,  and  the  temple,  were  all 
intimately  associated  with  prayer.  The  proseuchce, 
which  was  to  be  found  in  communities  where  the 
number  of  Jews  was  too  small  to  support  a  regular 
synagogue,  is  described  in  Acts  i6.  13,  as  "a  place 
of  prayer."  It  was  in  a  humble  proseuchce,  by  a 
river's  side,  at  the  outskirts  of  the  city  of  Philippi, 
where  a  few  devout  women  had  come  together  for 
prayer,  that  Gentile  Christianity  was  born. 

The  synagogue  was  somewhat  similar  to  the 
proseuchce ;  indeed,  some  regard  the  two  as  identi- 
cal. The  most  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  dif- 
ference between  them  is  that  where  the  latter  means 
a  place  of  prayer  the  former  means  a  house  of 
prayer ;  that  is  to  say,  something  of  the  same  nature 
but  larger  and  more  highly  developed. 

In  a  still  more  emphatic  sense,  the  expression  "a 
house  of  prayer"  is  used  as  descriptive  of  the  temple. 
Jesus  said,  "My  house  shall  be  called  a  house  of 
262 


IN  THE  CHRISTIAN   CHURCH       263 

prayer  for  all  nations."  It  was  God's  design  that 
under  its  golden  dome  the  representatives  of  all  the 
nations  should  gather  for  prayer.  In  two  other 
instances  where  the  temple  is  mentioned  it  is  con- 
nected with  prayer.  The  first  of  these  is  when  Peter 
and  John  went  "up  into  the  temple  at  the  hour  of 
prayer,  being  the  ninth  hour"  (Acts  3.  i) — the  time 
of  the  morning  sacrifice.  The  other  instance  is 
where  it  is  said  that  **the  whole  multitude  of  the 
people  were  praying  without  at  the  hour  of  incense" 
as  Zacharias,  the  father  of  John  the  Baptist,  exe- 
cuted the  priest's  office  before  God  in  the  order  of 
his  course"  (Luke  i.  10).  In  connection  with  these 
two  times  of  public  worship  prayer  is  especially 
mentioned  as  the  prominent  feature,  and  it  is  not 
without  significance  that  on  both  occasions  the  exer- 
cise of  prayer  was  connected  with  the  offering  of 
sacrifice,  signifying  that  through  sacrifice  man 
makes  his  approach  to  God  in  prayer. 

As  was  to  be  expected,  the  religion  of  Jesus, 
which  grew  out  of  the  soil  of  Judaism,  gives  to 
prayer  a  place  of  preeminence  in  its  worship. 
Calvin  does  not  hesitate  to  affirm  that  "God  declares 
that  prayer  is  the  chief  part  of  his  service."  The 
church  no  less  than  the  temple  is  to  be  known  as  the 
house  of  prayer.  At  first  its  services  were  very 
simple,  and  were  impressive  in  their  simplicity. 
They  consisted  of  song  and  prayer,  of  words  of 
testimony  and  exhortation.  Justin  Martyr,  describ- 
ing the  worship  of  the  early  Christians,  says,  "They 
assembled   on   the   Lord's   Day,   read   memoirs   of 


264  THE   PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

Jesus,  exhorted  one  another,  and  prayed."  Speak- 
ing of  the  presiding  minister,  he  says  that  he  offered 
up  prayer  ''as  he  was  able,"  that  is,  according  to  the 
best  of  his  abiHty ;  and  the  people  responded  by  say- 
ing, "Amen." 

In  that  day  we  find  no  trace  whatever  of  a  ritual 
or  liturgy.  The  prayers  were  free  and  spontaneous, 
as  became  the  prayers  of  those  who  had  been  an- 
ointed priests  unto  God,  and  who  in  the  exercise  of 
their  priestly  prerogatives  had  liberty  of  access  unto 
God.  Generally,  they  arose  out  of  the  occasions  on 
which  they  were  offered,  and  were  strictly  extem- 
poraneous. Augustine  reminds  us  that  our  Lord 
"did  not  teach  his  disciples  what  words  they  should 
use  in  prayer,  but  what  things  they  should  pray 
for."  Instead  of  giving  a  ritual  he  created  the 
impulse  to  pray,  and  then  left  each  one  free  to 
express  himself  in  the  way  most  natural  to  him. 
Tertullian  says  of  the  early  Christians  that  "they 
prayed  without  a  monitor,  because  from  the  heart." 

It  was  not  until  the  close  of  the  second  century 
that  the  use  of  brief  written  prayers  came  to  be 
adopted  in  connection  with  baptism.  The  Teach- 
ing of  the  Twelve  gives  some  of  these  prayers,  and 
says  of  them,  "to  which  the  prophet  is  not  bound." 
Evidently,  their  use  was  optional.  But  a  change 
gradually  crept  in,  and  the  primitive  condition  in 
which  the  disciples  came  together  to  worship  God  in 
the  freedom  of  the  spirit  was  at  length  superseded 
by  the  use  of  prescribed  forms.  The  adoption  of 
these  forms  was  "a  sign  of  spiritual  stagnation," 


IN  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH      265 

and  indicated  a  lapse  into  legalism.  And  ever  since 
new  forms  have  generally  been  added  in  times  of 
religious  decline;  and  many  revivals  of  religion — 
notably  those  under  George  Fox,  and  John  Wesley 
in  England — have  been  attempts  to  break  through 
the  fetters  of  form  and  recover  greater  simplicity  of 
worship.  Not  unfrequently  has  ritualism  been  twin 
sister  to  "rut-ualism." 

It  is  not,  however,  the  use  of  outward  forms  in 
religion  that  is  condemned  in  the  New  Testament, 
but  the  making  of  religion  a  thing  of  mere  form. 
External  forms  of  some  kind  are  necessary  to  reli- 
gious expression.  They  are  to  religion  what  the 
body  is  to  the  soul.  They  hold  up  inward  expe- 
rience as  the  trellis  holds  up  the  vine.  For  the  use 
of  prescribed  forms,  within  certain  limits,  there  is 
much  to  be  said,  especially  for  the  use  of  the  noble 
liturgies  in  which  the  devotional  life  of  great  saints 
of  the  past  are  enshrined.  That  they  have  helped  to 
nourish  the  spiritual  life  of  the  saintliest  souls  goes 
without  the  saying.  That  they  have  given  dignity 
to  the  worship  of  the  church  is  equally  true.  The 
prime  objection  to  them  is  that  they  are  the  expres- 
sion of  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  other  men. 
They  are  not  our  own,  except  in  a  secondary  sense. 
Why  our  praying  should  be  confined  to  the  forms  of 
other  ages  it  is  difficult  to  see.  Has  the  church 
of  to-day  become  so  sterile  that  she  cannot  produce 
her  own  prayers?  Has  all  creative  power  gone 
clean  from  her?  If  she  needs  to  remint  her  doc- 
trinal formulas,  so  as  to  adapt  them  to  the  ever- 


:^  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

changing  conditions  of  thought  and  life,  has  she  not 
equal  need  to  remint  the  forms  of  her  prayers  ? 

When  non-liturgical  churches  decline  in  spirit- 
uality, and  the  extemporaneous  prayers  of  the  pul- 
pit become  stale  and  commonplace,  the  remedy  is 
frequently  sought  in  what  is  called  "the  enrichment 
of  the  services,"  said  enrichment  consisting  in  the 
adoption  of  certain  liturgic  features,  instead  of  the 
enrichment  of  the  souls  of  the  worshipers.  These 
additions  are  not  made  because  the  life  within  is 
at  the  bursting  point,  and  requires  new  vehicles  of 
expression,  but  because  it  is  at  low  ebb  and  needs 
fostering.  They  are  a  tacit  confession  that  the  spon- 
taneous expression  of  religious  feeling  can  no 
longer  be  relied  upon,  and  that  some  external  prop 
is  therefore  needed  to  hold  up  the  tottering  wall  of 
the  temple  of  prayer. 

Touching  the  question  of  direct  preparation  for 
public  prayer,  there  is  much  to  be  said  on  both  sides. 
Premeditation,  earnest  brooding  there  ought  to  be. 
The  prayer  leader  should  cultivate  a  feeling  for  the 
people;  he  should  think  of  them  one  by  one;  his 
mind  should  sweep  the  circle  of  their  needs.  But 
whether  or  not  the  preparation  should  extend  to 
phrase-making  is  another  matter.  Some  one  has 
said,  "You  can  write  about  God,  but  you  cannot 
write  to  God."  Prayer  is  a  direct  address  to  God, 
and  not  a  literary  composition,  nor  a  mere  rhetor- 
ical performance.  A  newspaper  reporter  once 
described  the  prayer  of  a  noted  divine  as  "the  most 
eloquent  prayer  ever  addressed  to  a  Boston  audi- 


IN  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH      267 

ence."  It  may  safely  be  said  of  such  prayer  that  it 
does  not  get  higher  than  the  roof. 

If  the  value  of  prayer  does  not  lie  in  its  correct 
form,  much  less  does  it  lie  in  the  official  position  of 
the  one  who  prays.  It  lies  in  the  character  of  him 
who  prays.  Only  when  the  heart  is  right  before 
God  does  prayer  avail.  Hence  the  best  preparation 
for  prayer  is  the  preparation  of  the  heart.  When  a 
young  preacher  asked  the  venerable  Dr.  Alexander 
McLaren  for  counsel  on  the  question  of  prepara- 
tion for  public  prayer,  he  answered,  "The  best  way 
to  prepare  your  prayers  is  by  preparing  yourself.'' 
That  was  certainly  sound  advice.  Cultivate  a  feel- 
ing for  God,  or  what  Eucken  calls  "a  susceptibility 
of  God";  bring  yourself  consciously  into  his  pres- 
ence; open  the  heart  to  him;  keep  the  inward  life 
clean  and  pure,  and  the  fountain  of  prayer  will  flow 
freely ;  and  although  your  prayer  may  come  short  in 
rhetorical  finish,  it  will  not  lack  in  spiritual  effec- 
tiveness. 

Whether,  therefore,  prayer  be  liturgical  or  ex- 
temporaneous; whether  it  be  spontaneous  or  pre- 
meditated; whether  it  be  memorized  or  self-orig- 
inated, the  important  thing  is  that  it  be  real.  It  is 
reality  that  God  seeks — "truth  in  the  inward  parts." 
We  can  pray  "by  rote  as  well  as  by  book."  The 
danger  of  formality  belongs  to  every  method.  The 
argument  of  Paul  regarding  circumcision  may  be 
applied  to  prayer.  Neither  stately  liturgies,  nor 
free  and  informal  prayer  availeth  anything,  but  a 
heart  that  is  right  with  God;  a  heart  that  pierces 


268  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

through  the  outward  form  of  words  and  looks  upon 
the  face  of  God;  a  heart  that  cuts  loose  from  sur- 
rounding things  and  fixes  its  thought,  and  trust,  and 
hope  on  God  alone. 


CHAPTER  V 

PRAYER  IN  THE  GREAT  ASSEMBLIES  OF  THE 
CHURCH 

In  her  Councils,  Convocations,  and  Conferences, 
where  the  church  has  met  to  consider  rehgious, 
missionary,  and  social  questions,  she  has  always  been 
thrown  back  upon  God.  Unable  to  find  fitting 
expression  for  her  faith,  or  to  remove  the  barriers 
which  lie  in  the  way  to  union;  unable  to  meet  the 
pressing  demands  of  the  rapidly  enlarging  fields  of 
work;  unable  to  cope  with  the  forces  of  evil  which 
were  making  for  social  ruin,  she  has  been  forced  to 
make  her  appeal  to  heaven  for  help. 

A  study  of  the  history  of  the  great  Councils,  in 
the  furnace  heat  of  whose  enthusiasm  the  creeds  of 
the  church  were  forged,  and  by  whose  deliberations 
the  course  of  the  church,  in  reference  to  things 
political  and  social  was  shaped,  shows  that  formally, 
at  least,  all  their  discussions  were  begun,  continued, 
and  ended  in  prayer.  In  the  tangle  of  perplexing 
problems,  the  direction  of  the  Great  Head  of  the 
church  was  eagerly  sought.  Controversial  antago- 
nists rested  on  their  arms  to  invoke  heaven's  aid  in 
the  prosecution  of  their  respective  claims.  And  if 
they  were  sometimes  more  eager  to  have  God  on 
their  side  than  to  make  sure  of  being  on  God's  side, 
269 


270  THE  PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

still   it   was   to    God   that   they    made   their   final 
appeal. 

A  striking  modern  instance  of  a  great  gathering 
being  filled  and  swayed  by  the  spirit  of  prayer  is 
furnished  by  the  Edinburgh  Missionary  Conference, 
at  which  the  daily  prayer  meeting  was  the  culminat- 
ing point  of  interest  and  power.  Who  can  imagine 
what  might  have  happened  had  the  proportion  of 
time  given  to  speaking  and  prayer  been  reversed. 
It  is  the  profound  conviction  of  John  R.  Mott  that 
"the  missionary  leaders  have  not  put  prayer  first," 
and  he  adds,  "It  is  much  less  difficult  to  give  to 
missions  than  to  pray  for  them."  Dr.  Arthur  H. 
Smith,  the  veteran  missionary  of  China,  declares 
that  "the  problem  of  foreign  missions  is  how  to  use 
the  buried  talent  of  intercessory  prayer."  Shortly 
before  his  lamented  death  in  the  wreck  of  the 
Titanic,  William  T.  Stead,  when  prev^.nted  from 
addressing  a  mass  meeting  of  men  in  Liverpool,  sent 
this  message :  "Tell  the  men  of  Liverpool  there  is  no 
power  like  prayer.  Twenty  thousand  praying  men 
in  Liverpool  would  revolutionize  the  world.  Get 
your  men  to  pray,  and  you  will  get  them  to  live." 
Every  crisis  on  the  mission  field,  at  home  or  abroad, 
has  to  be  met  by  prayer ;  every  advance  is  preceded 
by  prayer.  The  great  hopes  of  missionary  conquest 
which  now  beat  within  the  breast  of  the  church  can 
find  their  fulfillment  only  by  prayer.  To  the  end  of 
time  the  church  suppliant  will  be  the  church  mili- 
tant, and  the  church  militant  will  be  the  church  tri- 
umphant. 


IN  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH       271 

The  call  of  the  church  to-day  is  for  more  money, 
more  men,  and  more  equipment,  in  order  to  push 
the  work  of  the  world's  evangelization  to  success. 
What  if  God  needs  our  prayers  more  than  he  does 
our  money  or  our  service?  "Men  planning  for  re- 
vivals," remarks  Nolan  Rice  Best,  "ask  money  and 
organization  for  bringing  their  plans  to  pass.  God 
seeks  only  prayers.  He  can  have  a  revival  any- 
where if  he  may  but  have  enough  prayers  of  the 
right  kind  to  work  with."  Other  things  have  their 
place  in  the  world's  conquest,  but  to  prayer  must  the 
primacy  be  given.  Yet  Christian  people  will  give 
money  without  stint  to  provide  the  necessary 
agencies  for  carrying  on  the  work  of  the  church 
while  withholding  prayer,  which  alone  can  make 
these  agencies  effective.  They  will  throw  them- 
selves into  the  work  of  social  betterment,  and  mani- 
fest a  languid  interest  in  the  hidden  life  of  prayer, 
by  which  the  passion  for  social  betterment  is  nour- 
ished and  social  activities  made  effective.  The  river 
of  service  runs  bank-full,  the  river  of  prayer  runs 
sluggish  and  low.  Altar  fires  that  once  burned 
brightly  have  died  down,  and  there  are  no  arms  of 
flame  reaching  up  to  heaven  to  receive  the  morning 
and  evening  sacrifice. 

A  few  years  ago  the  prophecy  was  made  that  we 
were  on^he  eve  of  a  revival  which  would  consist  in 
the  consecration  of  the  money  power  of  the  church. 
That  revival  has  measurably  come;  and  now  may 
we  look  for  a  revival  of  prayer;  a  revival  which 
will  bring  us  back  to  a  more  complete  dependence 


2^2  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

upon  spiritual  forces?  The  victory  is  not  by  might 
nor  by  power,  but  by  the  Spirit  of  God  poured  out 
in  answer  to  prayer.  A  praying  church  will  be  a 
living  church,  a  missionary  church,  a  conquering 
church. 


PART  SIXTH 

THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER  IN  THE 
CHRISTIANITY  OF  TO-DAY 


273 


THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER  IN  THE 
CHRISTIANITY  OF  TO-DAY 

PRAYERns'tke  weakest  thing  in  the  religious  life 
of  to-day.  In  recent  years  the  church  has  been 
growing  away__from  prayer.  The  prayer  habit  has 
been  on  the  wane.  There  has  been  a  wonderful 
increase  in  many  forms  of  religious  activity,  and  a 
corresponding  decrease  in  the  practice  of  prayer. 
The  social  life  of  the  church  has  developed  to  such 
an  extent  that  the  supper  room  has  been  substituted 
for  the  "upper  room."  Prayer,  when  not  dispensed 
with  altogether,  is  crowded  into  a  corner.  For  lack 
of  prayer  the  spiritual  life  of  the  church  languishes 
and  her  multiplied  activities  are  ineffective  for  the 
highest  spiritual  results.  To  have  her  work  vital- 
ized she  must  needs  pray  more  and  better.  There 
must  be  a  stronger  outbreaking  of  desire,  a  deeper 
inbreathing  of  life.  Anything  can  be  dispensed  with 
rather  than  prayer.  She  can  attain„-true.. -success 
without  wealth,  without  fine  buildings,  without 
crowds,  but  not  without  prayer.  If  her  prayer  life 
is  feeble  she  may  make  a  fair  outward  show,  but  can 
never  come  to  the  place  of  spiritual  power  which  she 
ought  to  occupy. 

How  to  regain  the  spirit  and  practice  of  prayer 
where  they  have  been  lost,  how  to  create  them  where 
they  have  never  existed,  are,  therefore,  matters  of 
275 


276  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

transcendent  importance.  How  is  this  to  be  done? 
We  answer:  It  is  to  be  done  by  obtaining,  in  the 
first  place,  a  clearer  understanding  of  what  prayer — 
and  especially  Christian  prayer — means;  and  by 
obtaining  also  a  more  definite  understanding  of 
what  it  accomplishes.  From  a  deeper  knowledge 
of  the  nature  of  prayer,  and  a  keener  appreciation 
of  the  real  and  substantial  benefits  which  it  confers, 
a  deeper  interest  in  it  will  spring.  Those  who  have 
the  strongest  convictions  of  its  value  pray  most  and 
best.  Those  who  fail  to  realize  its  worth  have  no 
place  for  it  among  the  interests  of  their  lives. 

One  of  the  most  important  services  which  the 
Christian  teacher  of  the  present  day  can  render  is  to 
recover  faith  in  the  potency  of  prayer.  And  this  he 
can  do  only  by  bringing  the  entire  subject  of  prayer 
into  harmony  with  modem  thought  and  life. 
Happily  for  such  an  effort,  the  pendulum  is  begin- 
ning to  swing  back  toward  a  simple  and  rational 
faith  on  the  reality  and  power  of  prayer,  and  signs 
already  appear  of  the  beginning  of  the  revival  of 
the  life  of  prayer  in  the  modern  church  under  new 
and  hopeful  conditions. 

I.  The  Present-Day  Movement  toward  a  Deeper 
Spirituality  Is  Favorable  to  the  Promotion  of 
Prayer. 

The  great  mystical  movement  which  we  see  break- 
ing out  in  unexpected  places  is  an  effort  to  counter- 
act the  tendency  to  outwardness  in  religion.  Many 
deeply    spiritual    natures,    weary    of    the    outward 


IN  THE  CHRISTIANITY  OF  TO-DAY  2^j 

routine  of  religious  worship  and  work,  are  en- 
deavoring to  regain  a  sense  of  spiritual  realities, 
and  to  drink  from  the  deep  -wells  of  truth  which 
traditional  religion  has  choked^jip.  Unfortunately, 
they  have  often  been  forced  outside  of  the  church 
for  what  they  ought  to  have  been  able  to  find  within 
it.  To  their  starved  souls  the  modern  religious  cults 
make  their  appeal,  for,  with  all  their  vagaries  and 
excesses,  these  cults  emphasize  the  spiritual  side  of 
religion.  When  religion  becomes  mechanical  and 
automatic  rather  than  free  and  vital  it  ceases  to  be 
satisfying.  When  work  takes  the  place  of  worship, 
when  philanthropy  takes  the  place  of  prayer ;  when 
speaking  to  one  another  takes  the  place  of  speaking 
to  God;  when  the  paying  church  member  is  set 
above  the  praying  church  member,  grievous  conse- 
quences follow. 

To  give  to  this  upward  movement  toward  the 
things  of  the  Spirit  practical  direction  it  must  be 
connected  with  the  development  of  the  life  of  prayer. 
A  new  thought  movement,  a  movement  which  is 
upon  a  purely  intellectual  plane,  must  ultimately 
become  spiritually  sterile.  Man  does  not  liye^Jiy 
thought  alone.  He  is  not  satisfied  with  knowing 
abotit  God;  what  his  hungry  heart  craves  is  the 
consciousness  of  his  presence,  the  sense  of  his  in- 
ward, personal  touch.  And  how  can  this  be  gained 
except  by  prayer?  Into  the  life  of  prayer  many 
are  dumbly  waiting  to  be  directed.  Their  hearts 
rather  than  their  lips  are  asking,  "Teach  us  to 
pray."     They  have  a  secret  conviction  that  their 


2^%  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

deepest  needs  will  not  be  met  if  they  are  taught 
merely  to  think  and  to  work.  They  are  ready  and 
anxious  to  become  scholars  in  the  school  of  prayer, 
that  they  may  learn  how  to  come  into  contact  with 
the  hidden  springs  of  spiritual  life  and  power,  whose 
source  is  in  the  heart  of  the  Eternal  God. 

And  here  is  the  present-day  opportunity  of  the 
church — to  teach  rnen  to  pray,  and  not  merely  to 
teach  them  what  they  ought  to  know  about  prayer. 
Hitherto  her  energies  have  been  bent  to  the  produc- 
tion of  better  workers,  the  need  is  upon  her  to  bend 
her  energies  to  the  production  of  better^prayers. 
Only  by  doing  this  can  she  gain  and  keep  her  right- 
ful place  of  spiritual  leadership  within  this  unfold- 
ing movement  into  which  many  of  the  noblest  souls 
are  being  swept,  and  by  which  they  are  being 
carried  to  ends  of  which  they  little  dream. 

2.  The  Reaction  from  the  Present-Day  Material- 
istic Drift,  Which  Is  Already  Setting  in,  Will  Bring 
a  Revival  of  the  Spirit  and  Life  of  Prayer. 

We  live  in  an  age  of  material  progress  and 
achievement,  an  age  in  which  the  realities  of  the 
unseen  world  are  looked  upon  as  shadowy  and 
unsubstantial.  But  a  change  is  inevitable.  It  is 
already  in  the  air.  Man  is  a  spiritual  being,  and  is, 
as  Sabatier  has  said,  "incurably  reiigiQus."  He  has 
wants  which  none  but  God  can  satisfy,  and  sooner 
or  later  the  hunger  of  his  heart  will  bring  him  to 
his  knees.  However  deeply  he  may  be  immersed  in 
worldly  pursuitS;Jhe_j]nust  come  to  the~St!rface  for 


IN  THE  CHRISTIANITY  OF  TO-DAY  279 

air.  His  highest  aspirations  may  be  crushed  down 
and  smothered  up,  but  they  cannot  be  altogether  ex- 
tinguished. Man  is  too  big  to  be  forever  satisfied 
with  material  things  or  with  the  attainment  of  mate- 
rial ends.  He  has  clamorous  spiritual  appetites 
which  nothing  earthly  can  still.  His  eternal  soul  can 
be  satisfied  only  in  the  Eternal  God.  There  are  times 
when  the  stiffest  knee  must  bend;  times  when  the 
most  earth-bound  soul  will  look  up;  times  when 

Lips  cry,  "God  be  merciful," 
That  ne'er  said,  "God  be  praised"; 

times  when  every  man  will  turn  from  the  tending  of 
his  flock  and  stand  with  bared  head  and  hushed 
heart  before  the  burning  bush,  listening  to  the  voice 
of  God. 

It  matters  not  how  man  has  got  his  spiritual 
nature ;  that  he  has  got  it  is  the  significant  fact.  He 
has  a  sense  of  kinship  with  the  Eternal.  He  feels 
that  he  belongs  to  the  spiritual  sphere  of  things; 
and  that  he  lives  in  a  universe  in  which  all  things 
exist  for  spiritual  ends.  The  ultimate  realities  upon 
which  he  plants  the  feet  of  his  soul  he  finds  in  the 
realm  of  spirit.  In  his  highest  mood  he  sees  himself 
as  a  spiritual  being  living  in  the  heart  of  a  spiritual 
universe. 

Into  the  place  providentially  prepared  for  it  by 
this  new  conception  of  things  the  whole  question  of 
prayer  is  now  waiting  to  be  brought.  If  for  a  time 
materializing  influences  proved  inimical  to  the  de- 
velopment of  the  spirit  of  prayer,  the  spiritualizing 


28o  THE   PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

influences  already  at  work  are  turning  the  tide  in 
its  favor.  The  recognition  of  the  spiritual  meaning 
of  life  is  in  itself  a  call  to  prayer.  When  men  see 
that  temporal  interests  are  not  paramount;  when 
they  begin  to  hunger  for  the  finer  things  of  the 
spirit;  when  they  seek  to  overcome  the  downward 
pull  of  their  earthly  environment,  and  keep  the 
spirit  on  the  top,  they  are  invariably  drawn  to  God 
in  prayer.  There  is  something  within  them  that 
tells  them  that  the  highest  welfare  of  their  spiritual 
nature  demands  that  they  come  into  vital  relation 
with  him  in  order  that  they  may  receive  his  prof- 
fered help  in  their  attempts  to  rise.  As  soon  as  that 
higher  relationship  is  established  the  downward  bent 
is  changed,  and  the  soul  begins  to  soar.  It  seeks 
the  things  which  are  above,  as  fire  ascending  seeks 
the  sun.  And  in  proportion  as  it  keeps  itself  open 
to  God  the  more  does  it  experience  his  upholding, 
uplifting  power. 

3.  The  Enlarging  Vision  and  Scope  of  Life  Is  a 
Call  to  Prayer. 

We  live  in  a  new  world — a  very  different  world 
from  that  in  which  our  fathers  lived.  We  have  a 
wider  horizon;  life  has  become  more  varied,  more 
complex — whether  it  has  become  more  satisfying  is 
another  matter.  To  this  changed  condition  the 
whole  circle  of  prayer  thought  and  life  requires  to 
be  readjusted.  The  enlargement  of  life,  together 
with  its  increased  complexity  and  perplexity,  makes 
an  increased  demand  on  prayer.    Never  was  a  life 


IN  THE  CHRISTIANITY  OF  TO-DAY  281 

of  prayer  more  difficult,  and  never  was  it  more 
needful. 

Increase  is  the  law  of  life.  Never  did  life  count 
for  more  than  it  does  to-day;  and  to-morrow  will 
be  better  still.  Now,  prayer  instead  of  running 
athwart  this  enlarging  of  life  helps  it  on.  It  is  one 
of  the  ways  in  which  our  spiritual  possessions  come 
to  us ;  it  is  a  prime  condition  of  all  growth  in  knowl- 
edge and  in  grace.  The  man  who  prays  lives  in  a 
larger  world,  and  is  himself  a  larger  man.  His 
spiritual  value  is  increased.  His  life  is  filled  with 
new  possibilities;  it  has  a  deeper  meaning,  a  larger 
scope.  With  expansion  of  heart  there  comes  to  him 
augmentation  of  power.  With  broadening  of  vision 
there  comes  the  ability  to  live  and  labor  in  line 
with  the  growing  life  of  the  times  and  with  the 
growing  purpose  of  God.  Entering  into  God's 
thought,  catching  God's  view  of  the  things  going 
on  around  him,  he  tries  to  keep  step  with  the  on- 
ward movement  of  God  in  the  world's  life.  To  him 
things  are  bigger  than  they  seem.  The  walls  of 
time  break  away  and  let  the  eternal  glories  in,  and 
the  world  of  sense  is  invaded  by  the  Hfe  of  heaven ; 
all  things,  seen  and  unseen,  present  and  to  come, 
work  for  redemption;  and  while  earth  yields  her 
utmost,  heaven  holds  in  reserve  an  uncountable 
overplus. 

4.  The  Modern  Scientiiic  Spirit  Is  Bringing  Re- 
enforcement  to  the  Spirit  of  Devotion. 

In  the  not  far  distant  past  the  scientific  spirit 


282  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

was  critical,  analytic,  and  destructive.  It  dug  at 
the  roots  of  things.  It  stirred  up  questionings, 
which  was  good;  and  it  led  to  misgivings  about 
things  essential,  which  was  not  good.  In  the  dis- 
turbed atmosphere  which  it  created  it  was  difficult 
to  pray.  Along  with  the  intellectual  unrest  and  lack 
of  certainty  there  was  an  absence  of  that  childlike 
spirit  to  which  the  things  of  the  spiritual  kingdom 
are  revealed,  and  which  is  an  essential  element  in 
true  prayer. 

But  a  reaction  is  setting  in;  the  constructive 
method  is  taking  place  of  the  critical  and  destruc- 
tive ;  there  is  a  deeper  spirit  of  reverence,  a  franker 
recognition  of  the  fact  that  there  is  another  realm 
lying  outside  the  world  of  sense;  that  man  has  a 
right  to  go  on  "believing  what  he  cannot  prove," 
and  that  with  regard  to  some  things  his  soul  has  a 
right  to  be  heard.  Faith  in  the  supernatural  has 
stood  the  test  of  time,  and  has  become  purer  and 
stronger  for  the  fiery  ordeal  through  which  it  has 
passed.  And  one  of  the  results  of  its  victory — a 
result  which  the  coming  days  will  more  confidently 
declare — is  the  growth  of  a  profounder  sense  of  the 
value  of  prayer. 

Prayer  itself  is  also  being  put  upon  a  more 
scientific  basis  by  being  taken  out  of  its  provincial 
setting  and  related  to  the  conception  of  God  and  the 
universe  which  science  has  made  possible.  The 
natural  world  is  not  a  closed  but  an  "open  system." 
It  is  open  to  God,  plastic  to  his  touch.  So  is  also 
the  world  of  mind.     Psychical  research  gives  hints 


IN  THE  CHRISTIANITY  OF  TO-DAY  283 

of  a  subtle  law,  to  which  the  name  of  telepathy  has 
been  given,  by  which  mind  acts  upon  mind  from  a 
distance.  It  would  perhaps  be  putting  the  matter 
too  strongly  to  speak  of  telepathy  as  an  established 
scientific  fact;  it  is,  however,  a  feasible  hypothesis, 
in  behalf  of  which  there  is  a  strong  presumptive 
proof.  The  conviction  prevails  and  grows  that  we 
can  project  our  thoughts  into  the  minds  of  others, 
and  that  they  in  turn  can  transfer  their  thoughts  to 
us.  An  analogy  of  the  free  passage  of  thought 
from  mind  to  mind  is  furnished  by  wireless  teleg- 
raphy. There  is  no  longer  any  limit  set  to  the 
transmission  of  thought  by  this  means.  The 
boundaries  of  space  are  melting  away  and  the  world 
is  becoming  a  vast  whispering  gallery.  That 
thought  should  be  thus  transmitted  to  earth's  re- 
motest bound  is  scarcely  less  wonderful  than  that 
prayer  should  rise  to  heaven  and  reach  the  heart  of 
the  Infinite  Father.     For  what  is  prayer  but — 

A  breath  that  floats  beyond  the  iron  world, 
And  touches  Him  who  made  it? 

What  is  it  but  a  spirit-voice  projected  into  space, 
which  travels  on  and  on  until  it  finds  a  response  in 
the  Infinite  Heart,  to  which  it  is  attuned? 

It  ought  not  to  be  as  difficult  as  it  once  was  to 
believe  in  these  larger  aspects  of  prayer,  the  whole 
world  of  human  kind  having  become  so  knit  to- 
gether that  one  mind  can  reach  another  almost  any- 
where. The  modes  of  access  to  others  which  God 
has  left  open  to  the  praying  soul  we  may  never 


284  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

fully  know.  The  important  thing,  however,  is  not 
the  knowledge  of  the  modes  but  the  fact  itself.  And 
the  fact  is  enhanced  in  value  when  an  ever-widening 
reach  and  closer  touch  is  seen  to  be  in  harmony 
with  the  laws  of  mind  and  with  established  scien- 
tific principles. 

5.  The  New  Psychology  Is  Preparing  the  Way 
for  a  Better  Understanding  of  Prayer. 

Looked  at  from  the  standpoint  of  the  psycholo- 
gist, prayer  is  a  spiritual  fact  and  experience,  rooted 
in  the  nature  of  man,  and  forming  an  important 
part  of  his  inner  life.  As  one  of  the  most  pro- 
nounced facts  of  consciousness  it  forms  a  legiti- 
mate object  of  study.  Psychologists  of  every  shade 
admit  its  reality,  while  differing  as  to  its  nature 
and  value. 

'Trayer,"  says  Eucken,  "reveals  the  naked  soul." 
Never  does  man  uncover  himself  more  completely 
than  when  he  prays.  If  we  look  in  upon  him  at 
this  time  of  unveiling,  what  do  we  find  ?  What  are 
the  contents  of  his  consciousness?  What  is  he 
doing,  and  what  does  he  know  himself  to  be  doing? 
In  other  words,  what  are  the  psychicological  ele- 
ments in  the  spiritual  exercise  called  prayer?  The 
answer  to  this  question  must  at  best  be  only  par- 
tial; but  even  a  superficial  study  of  the  psychology 
of  prayer  will  reveal,  at  least,  the  following  elements : 

(i)  The  consciousness  of  personality.  Prayer  is 
the  outcome  of  personality.  It  comes  from  the 
depths  of  the  spiritual  nature.     The  subconscious 


IN  THE  CHRISTIANITY  OF  TO-DAY  285 

mind,  with  its  stored-up  memories,  impressions, 
and  experiences,  is  the  fountain  from  which  the 
stream  of  devotion  is  fed ;  but  it  is  in  the  conscious 
mind  that  prayer  is  actualized.  When  a  man  prays 
his  whole  nature  is  consciously  engaged  in  the  act. 

Prayer  is  the  conscious  moving  out  and  moving 
up  of  the  soul  to  God;  it  is  the  meeting  of  two 
self-conscious  persons  and  the  establishing  of  inter- 
course between  them.  Its  beginning  is  contempo- 
raneous with  man's  moral  awakening;  and  man's 
moral  awakening  is  contemporaneous  with  the  touch 
of^  God  upon  the  soul,  whether  that  touch  comes 
from  the  sense  of  God's  displeasure  on  account  of 
sin,  or  from  a  sense  of  his  brooding  love;  and 
whether  it  is  experienced  when  man  is  wandering 
in  the  desert,  seeking  rest  to  his  troubled  soul,  or 
nestling  in  the  Father's  arms. 

(2)  Freedom  of  action.  Prayer  is  a  free,  and 
hence  a  moral  act.  "It  is,"  as  Schlatter  has  put  it, 
**the  act  by  which  we  turn  our  will  upon  God." 
In  its  crudest  and  most  instinctive  form  it  may  be 
the  mere  outcry  of  a  soul  in  trouble,  the  cry  of  a 
wounded  animal;  but  when  a  man  really  prays  he 
does  so  because  he  wants  to  pray,  not  because  he 
must.  He  follows  out  an  impulse  which  he  has 
power  to  crush ;  he  renders  a  definite  act  of  homage 
which  he  has  power  to  withhold.  It  is  of  his  own 
free  initiative  that  he  sends  his  soul  into  the  in- 
visible, that  it  may  hold  communion  with  the  source 
of  its  life.  Because  it  is  free,  prayer  is  something 
which  we  are  enjoined  to  render;  to  restrain  it  is 


286  THE   PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

to  rob  God ;  to  offer  it  up  under  pressure  is  to  make 
it  the  refuge  of  a  coward  rather  than  the  offering 
of  a  pious  heart.  To  be  real  and  acceptable  it  must 
be  a  free-will  offering. 

(3)  The  forthputting  of  effort.  Prayer  is  a  con- 
dition of  activity  rather  than  of  passivity.  It  is  a 
form  of  self-action.  It  calls  for  attention;  for  the 
curbing  of  wandering  thoughts,  the  fixing  of  the 
mind  by  a  definite  effort  of  the  will  upon  a  given 
object,  the  holding  of  the  mind  in  a  waiting,  ex- 
pectant attitude.  The  Mystics  delighted  in  repre- 
senting the  soul  as  a  garden  watered  by  prayer. 
Saint  Teresa  elaborates  this  metaphor,  and  speaks 
of  four  ways  in  which  this  is  done — by  dr-  wing  from 
a  well,  by  a  water  wheel,  by  causing  a  stream  to 
flow  through  it,  or  by  rain  from  heaven.  These 
stages  represent  different  degrees  of  passivity,  the 
goal  being  reached  when  the  soul  lies  open  to  God 
as  a  plowed  field  to  the  rain.  But  this  representa- 
tion does  not  cover  the  case.  The  metaphor  is 
overstrained.  There  may  be  passive  waiting,  but 
there  cannot  be  passive  praying.  Prayer  always 
calls  for  effort,  sometimes  for  strenuous  effort.  The 
soul  does  not  naturally  lie  open  to  God  as  a  plowed 
field  to  the  rain ;  it  opens  itself  to  him  by  conscious 
effort;  it  does  not  merely  allow  the  rain  to  soak  in, 
it  actively  absorbs  it.  To  pray  truly  is  never  an 
easy  thing ;  it  takes  a  resolute  act  of  the  will  to  stir 
oneself  up  to  lay  hold  on  God,  and  it  takes  sustained 
effort  of  the  will  to  continue  undistractedly  in  the 
exercise  of  prayer. 


IN  THE  CHRISTIANITY  OF  TO-DAY  287 

(4)  The  awakening  of  desire.  It  is  interesting 
to  watch  the  birth  and  growth  and  decay  of  desire 
as  it  expresses  itself  in  prayer.  Sometimes  it  wells 
up  spontaneously  from  the  depths  of  the  heart,  ex- 
pressing itself  in  a  vague  yearning  after  higher 
things ;  sometimes  it  is  languid ;  sometimes,  aroused 
by  outward  stimuli,  it  arises  to  the  highest  pitch  of 
emotional  fervency.  However  produced,  it  is  the 
stuff  out  of  which  prayers  are  made. 

Looked  at  on  its  deeper  side,  it  is  a  self-kindled 
fire,  burning  within  the  breast,  and  fanned  into  a 
flame  by  the  power  of  self-excitation.  It  has  its 
origin  in  man's  nature  and  needs.  As  a  creature  of 
needs  mac*  is  a  creature  of  desires.  His  desires 
change  asK  .is  needs  change,  and  his  needs  change 
as  he  changes.  Now,  it  is  of  the  nature  of  prayer 
not  only  to  furnish  vent  for  desire  but  to  purify 
and  ennoole  it.  In  the  awful  Presence  to  which 
prayer  ascends  every  selfish  and  sinful  desire  is 
withered  up ;  and  every  low  and  unworthy  desire  is 
elevated  .  and  brought  into  harmony  with  the 
Sovereign  Will. 

(5)  The  calling  into  play  of  the  imagination. 
There  is  a  whole  set  of  mental  images,  of  which 
prayer  makes  constant  use,  founded  upon  the  rela- 
tion existing  between  the  human  and  the  divine.  God 
is  by  turn  a  Father,  a  King,  a  Shepherd,  a  Hus- 
band, a  Friend,  a  Guardian,  a  Guide,  "a  Saviour, 
and  many  things  besides.  These  various  figures 
under  which  he  is  represented  appeal  to  the  poetical 
element  in  human  nature;  they  call  for  some  per- 


288  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

sonalizing  of  the  Infinite;  some  picturing  to  the 
imagination  of  the  One  to  whom  prayer  is  directed. 
No  one  can  pray  to  "a  principle,"  and  even  if  the 
brooding  presence  be  regarded  as  formless,  it  must 
needs  be  focalized  and  personalized  to  the  imagina- 
tion, so  as  to  mean  something  living,  real,  and 
responsive. 

But  the  chief  mental  image  of  God,  and  the  one 
that  helps  us  most  in  prayer,  is  that  provided  in 
Him  who  is  "the  image  of  the  invisible  God."  When 
we  think  of  God  we  think  of  him  as  like  Jesus; 
and  when  we  think  of  Jesus  we  have  before  our 
mind's  eye  a  picture  of  embodied  moral  perfection, 
which  imagination  constructs  out  of  the  scanty 
materials  furnished  in  the  fragmentary  records  of 
his  life.  And  what,  although,  as  Dr.  David  Smith 
has  said,  "One's  mental  image  of  Jesus  is  only  a 
dream-face,"  it  is  this  "dream-face"  which  gives  to 
many  the  only  tangible  conception  of  God  obtain- 
able when  they  seek  to  find  a  realizing  sense  of  his 
presence. 

When  prayer  is  offered  for  others  there  is  also 
brought  into  play  what  may  be  called  the  sympa- 
thetic imagination.  The  image  of  the  one  prayed 
for  is  called  up.  We  see  him  before  us;  we  enter 
into  his  life;  we  endeavor  to  see  things  as  he  sees 
them,  and  interpret  in  our  prayer  what  is  most 
urgent  within  the  circle  of  his  needs.  In  this  way 
the  man  who  prays  is  lifted  out  of  the  prosaic  world 
around  him.  He  becomes  an  idealist.  Things 
which  eye  hath  not  seen  nor  ear  heard  are  revealed 


IN  THE  CHRISTIANITY  OF  TO-DAY  289 

to  him.  He  lives  in  the  invisible  realm  where  spirit 
meets  with  spirit,  and  where  wondrous  things  are 
done  which  were  never  dreamed  of  in  our 
philosophies. 

(6)  A  craving  for  self-expression.  Prayer  is 
one  of  the  ways  in  which  the  soul-life  is  expressed. 
"It  is  the  putting  forth  of  vital  energy.  It  is  the 
highest  effort  of  which  the  human  spirit  is  capable" 
(J.  R.  Mott).  We  express  ourselves  to  God  in 
prayer,  "as  the^ universe  expresses  . God  to  us."  We 
seek  to  let  him  know  what  we  think  and  feel.  This 
we  do  by  vocal  utterance;  but  vocal  utterance  is 
never  an  isolated  and  unrelated  act  in  the  life  of  a 
religious  man;  it  is,  rather,  a  passing  act  in  which 
his  whole  life  is  involved,  and  in  which  his  whole 
life  is  temporarily  expressed.  Prayer  is  conterminous 
with  life.  It  is  the  whole  life  that  prays.  Hence  a 
man's  prayer  will  go  up  or  down  to  the  level  of  his 
life.  As  he  thinks  in  his  heart  so  will  he  pray.  In 
his  prayers  all  that  is  inmost  in  his  life  will  be  ex- 
pressed. But  fullness  of  expression  in  prayer  can 
never  be  realized  when  prayer  is  individualistic. 
The  highest  prayer  has  its  roots  in  man's  social 
nature,  and  comes  from  the  working  of  an  altruistic 
spirit  that  demands  social  expression.  When  any- 
one becomes  absorbed  in  himself  the  stream  of 
prayer  soon  dries  up;  when  his  interests  reach  out 
beyond  himself  "his  thoughts  of  others  gradually 
become  prayers"  (Forbes  Robinson).  In  view  of 
these  facts,  it  is  passing  strange  that  the  place  of 
prayer  in  the  solution  of  the  social  problem  should 


290  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

have  been  so  largely  overlooked.  Yet  it  touches  the 
core  of  the  whole  matter.  Apart  from  its  power  as 
a  working  force  in  the  world's  life,  it  creates  a  new 
consciousness  of  social  values,  and  awakens  senti- 
ments which  ultimately  find  expression  in  the  rela- 
tions of  society.  Never  is  man's  social  conscious- 
ness more  keenly  alive,  and  never  is  he  brought  into 
closer  sympathy  with  the  social  problem  around  him 
than  when  he  prays  for  others.  The  more  he  prays 
for  them  the  more  intensive  grows  his  love  for  them, 
and  the  stronger  grows  his  desire  to  help  them. 

These  suggestions  concerning  the  psychology  of 
prayer  touch  only  the  fringe  of  the  subject.  There 
is  much  in  psychology  which  prayer  does-aot  take 
into  account ;  for  it  has  to  do  with  what  comes 
within  the  range  of  observation,  and  knows  nothing 
of  unseen  forces.  That  consciousness  of  the  divine 
fellowship,  which  is  the  deepest  thing  in  prayer  and 
with  which  the  prayer  begins  and  ends,  is  beyond 
its  ken.  What  the  psychologist  sees  is  a_soul__^at- 
tempting.tQ.rise,  like  a  bird  with  a  broken  wing,  and 
often  falling  earthward;  what  he  does  not  see  is  a 
soul  which  has  found  a  resting  place,  where  no 
mortal  eye  can  follow  it,  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Eternal  Father. 

6.  The  Trend  of  Modern  Thought  Is  Throwing 
Light  upon  the  Relation  of  Prayer  to  Law. 

One  of  the  most  common  objections  to  prayer  has 
been  its  seeming  opposition  to  the  uniformity  of  the 
natural  order.    It  has  been  boldly  asserted  that  there 


IN  THE  CHRISTIANITY  OF  TO-DAY  291 

is  no  place  for  prayer  in  a  world  in  which  everything 
is  held  irrthe"g-np  of  universal  law,  and  that  it  can 
have  no  possible  effect  in  altering  the  unalterable. 
This  objection  is  based  upon  thie  assumption  that 
God  is  limited  by  the  things  which  he  has  created; 
that  his  laws  are  fetters  by  which  he  is  bound  rather 
than  methods  by  which  he  works — his  masters 
rather  than  his  servants.  What  we  call  the  laws  of 
nature  are  simply  the  orderly  sequences  of  events. 
They  are  not  entities  separate  from  God,  but  are  the 
expression  of  his  mind  and  will.  Being  under  his 
control,  they  can  be  changed  and  modified  by  him 
as  he  pleases.  If  within  the  cosmic  order  room  has 
been  left  for  human  freedom  so  that,  as  Brierley  has 
said,  'Ve  move  freely  in  a  bound  universe,"  surely 
there  is  room  also  for  divine  freedom.  It  is  a  daring 
thing  to  put  limits  to  what  God  can  do. 

By  connecting  prayer  with  law,  and  relating  it 
to  the  existing  order  within  which  God's  providence 
operates,  we  make  it  believable;  by  divorcing  it 
from  the  natural  processes  of  life,  and  associating 
it  with  the  unwonted  and  the  spectacular  we  put 
a  stumbling-block  in  the  way  of  its  acceptance.  Not 
that  the  possibility  of  direct  intervention  is  to  be 
excluded;  not  that  God  cannot,  if  he  chooses,  alter 
the  course  of  events  to  bring  about  a  certain  result ; 
but  it  is  more  in  accordance  with  what  we  know  of 
his  ways  to  expect  that  the  answer  to  prayer  should 
be  found  in  the  common  rather  than  the  extraor- 
dinary; in  the  everyday  happenings  of  human  life 
rather  than  in  marked  interferences  and  interposi- 


292  THE   PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

tions.  Where^  therefore,  nothing  wonderful  takes 
place,  we  are  not  to  conclude  that  prayer  has  not 
been  answered.  As  a  rule,  God's  answer  is  not  in 
the  wind,  nor  in  the  earthquake,  nor  in  the  fire,  but 
in  ^'the  still  small  Yoic-e."_ 

Since  the  world  is  governed  in  the  interests  of  all 
God's  children,  it  is  not  seemly  or  right  for  any  one 
of  them  to  claim  a  monopoly  of  his  favor,  and  ask 
him  to  change  his  arrangements  to  meet  his  indi- 
vidual desires  and  needs.  Upon  this  point  Dr.  G. 
Campbell  Morgan  has  the  following  suggestive 
story:  A  thoughtful  boy,  when  his  mother  prayed 
for  good  weather  for  a  picnic,  said:  "Mother,  I 
don't  think  you  ought  to  ask  God  for  a  good  day. 
Perhaps  it  would  be  a  great  deal  better  for  the 
farmers  to  have  it  wet,  and  why  should  it  be  fine 
just  for  our  outing?  Why  don't  you  rather  ask  God 
to  help  you  choose  one  of  his  fine  days  ?"  This  in  a 
nutshell  is  the  philosophy  of  prayer  for  weather,  and 
for  prayer  for  temporal  things  in  general.  The 
end  of  all  such  praying  is  not  to  get  God  to  adjust 
things  to  our  desires,  but  to  bring  ourselves  into 
adjustment  with  his  plans;  it  is  not  to  alter  God's 
laws,  but  to  bring  ourselves  into  harmony  with  them. 
By  prayer  we  enter  into  the  will  of  God,  and  accept 
it  without  murmuring  or  disputing. 

An  enlarged  vision  of  divine  activity  within  the 
sphere  of  law  would  make  many  things  which  we 
have  been  accustomed  to  call  miracles  appear  divine 
commonplaces.  Nothing  that  does  not  imply  a  con- 
tradiction is  too  great  for  God.    And  when  we  see 


IN  THE  CHRISTIANITY  OF  TO-DAY  293 

how  man's  power  has  widened  within  the  limits  of 
law;  when  we  see  how  things  are  done  by  him 
which  a  hundred  years  ago  would  have  been  deemed 
impossible,  we  dare  not  limit  God's  power  in  any 
direction,  nor  imagine  that  there  can  ever  be  a 
circumstance  in  which  he  cannot  send  relief  to  his 
praying  child. 

As  the  relation  of  prayer  to  law  comes  to  be 
better  understood,  nature  is  seen  to  be  accessible  to 
spiritual  forces.  It  is  ruled  from  above.  "In  the 
upper  region  God  works  upon  the  lower."  By 
prayer  man  brings  the  resources  of  heaven  down  to 
earth.  He  taps  the  fountain  of  living  energy,  and 
brings  its  Hfe-giving  waters  into  the  desert;  he 
"opens  a  sluice  between  the  great  ocean,  and  our 
little  earthly  channels,  when  the  great  sea  gathers 
itself  together  and  flows  in  at  full  tide." 

The  world  is  controlled  by  spiritual  forces  for 
spiritual  ends.  Behind  unchanging  law  is  unchang- 
ing love,  and  if  law  works  out  its  ends  so  does  love. 
Once  admit  that  a  loving  Father  rules  above  and 
operates  all  the  forces  of  nature  for  the  good  of 
his  children,  and  it  will  no  longer  seem  strange 
that  he  should,  if  he  pleases,  so  modify  and  alter 
things  as  to  secure  the  end  upon  which  his  heart  is 
set.  Upon  such  an  assumption  the  philosophy  of 
prayer  must  ultimately  rest.  Professor  Tyndall  saw 
this  when,  speaking  as  a  scientist,  he  remarked :  "It 
is  a  matter  of  experience  that  an  earthly  father, 
who  is  at  the  same  time  wise  and  tender,  listens  to 
the  requests  of  his  children,  and  if  they  do  not  ask 


294  THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER 

amiss,  takes  pleasure  in  granting  their  requests.  We 
know  also  that  this  compliance  extends  to  the  alter- 
ation, within  certain  limits,  of  the  current  of  events 
on  earth.  With  this  suggestion  offered  to  experi- 
ence, it  is  no  departure  from  the  scientific  method 
to  place  behind  natural  phenomena  a  universal 
Father,  who,  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of  his  chil- 
dren, alters  the  currents  of  their  phenomena."  And 
seeing  our  Father  knoweth  what  things  we  need 
before  we  ask  him,  that  he  always  desires  to  bless 
us,  the  object  of  prayer  is  not  to  change  his  mind, 
but  to  get  into  his  thought  and  sweetly  accept  his 
good  and  perfect  will  in  all  things.  When  this  is 
reached  and  we  are  brought  into  oneness  with  the 
divine  purpose  of  grace  by  which  our  lives  and  the 
lives  of  others  are  encompassed,  the  true  end  of 
prayer  has  been  attained. 

7.  A  Clearer  Recognition  of  the  Rationale  of 
Prayer  Is  Putting  It  upon  a  Firmer  Footing. 

Prayer  is  coming  more  and  more  to  be  looked 
upon  as  a  rational  act,  not  a  mere  impulse  of  the 
affections,  but  also  a  dictate  of  reason,  or,  as  Words- 
worth has  it,  "a  rational  prerogative."  When  we 
pray  truly  we  follow  the  lead  of  our  reason  as  well 
as  of  our  heart.  Paul  did  this  when  in  the  midst 
of  a  wild  storm  of  fanaticism  within  the  church  at 
Corinth,  as  men  prayed  in  an  unknown  tongue,  he 
stood  unperturbed,  refusing  to  surrender  his  mental 
integrity  or  to  abdicate  his  reason,  affirming,  *'I 
will  pray  with  the  spirit,  and  I  will  pray  with  the 


IN  THE  CHRISTIANITY  OF  TO-DAY  295 

understanding  also"  (i  Cor.  14.  15).  This  is  the 
proper  attitude  to  maintain;  and  we  pay  God  a 
poor  compliment  if  in  any  way  whatever  we  oppose 
prayer  to  rationality. 

1      Looked  at  in  the  light  of  human  analogy,  prayer 

/  is  a  natural  and  rational  way  of  securing  certain 

/  ends.    We  ask  and  receive  from  one  another.    We 

/    give  special   favors  one  to   another  in  answer  to 

/     special  requests.     Is  it  therefore  strange  that  the 

^--— same  rule  should  obtain  in  our  dealings  with  God? 

And,  anyway,  what  have  we  to  guide  us  to  an 

understanding  of  prayer  save  these  human  analo- 

.  gies  ?    Man  is  a  creature  of  numberless  wants ;  God 

is  the  source  of  boundless  supplies.     Prayer  is  the 

appeal  of  the  insufficient  to  the  All  Sufficient.    It  is 

founded   upon   that   sense   of   dependence   upon   a 

higher  power  out  of  which  all  religion  has  sprung, 

and  is  the  most  natural  and  rational  thing  in  the 

world. 

Men  of  all  creeds,  and  of  no  creeds,  have  in 
times  of  emergency  sought  the  _help  of  heaven. 
General  Kodama,  who  was  the  directmg  power  in 
the  Japanese  army  in  the  war  with  Russia,  was 
accustomed  to  retire  for  about  an  hour  every  morn- 
ing, after  rising,  for  prayer.  Questioned  as  to  why 
he  did  so,  he  replied,  ''When  a  man  has  done  every- 
thing in  his  power  there  remains  nothing  but  the 
help  of  the  gods."  And  Abraham  Lincoln  is  re- 
ported to  have  said :  "I  have  been  driven  many 
times  to  my  knees  by  the  conviction  that  I  had 
nowhere  else  to  go.     My  own  wisdom,  and  that  of 


296  THE  PLACE  OF   PRAYER 

all  around  me,  seemed  insufficient  for  the  day."  No 
man  is  always  sufficient  unto  himself.  His  utmost 
effort  will  avail  nothing  unless  he  links  himself  up 
with  God.  When  baffled,  where  can  he  turn  for 
light  but  to  the  All-Wise?  When  broken  on  the 
wheel  of  adversity,  where  can  he  look  for  help  but 
to  the  All-Mighty?  The  cutting  away  of  earthly 
props;  the  toppling  over  of  the  most  fondly  cher- 
ished schemes;  the  experience  of  the  utter  inade- 
quacy of  all  other  sources  of  help,  throws  a  man 
back  upon  God.  In  his  helplessness  he  calls  upon 
him  as  instinctively  as  a  child  awakening  in  the 
dark  calls  for  his  mother ;  and  doing  so  he  finds  that 

There  is  more  wisdom  in  a  whispered  prayer 
Than  in  all  the  ancient  lore  of  all  the  schools, 

and  that  "the  soul  upon  its  knees  holds  God  by  the 
hand"  and  lives  the  darkness  through,  peacefully 
awaiting  the  dawning  of  the  morning. 

Between  divine  supply  and  human  need  there  is 
a  beautiful  correlation.  Over  against  every  legiti- 
mate want  there  is  abundant  provision.  But  among 
the  things  which  God  has  provided  for  his  children, 
and  which  he  is  anxious  that  they  possess,  are  some 
which  he  cannot  give  unless  they  pray  for  them. 
He  may  shower  outward  blessings  upon  them  with- 
out their  asking,  he  can  pour  the  gifts  of  the  spirit 
into  them  only  when  their  hearts  are  opened  to 
receive  them. 

Nor  is  it  necessary  that  they  understand  the 
rationale  of  prayer.     Within  themselves  they  may 


IN  THE  CHRISTIANITY  OF  TO-DAY  297 

have  the  witness  that  it  is  a  good  thing,  while  un- 
able to  understand  its  workings;  and  may  be 
supremely  satisfied  with  it  so  long  as  it  harmonizes 
with  their  nature  and  meets  in  the  most  natural 
ways  their  deepest  needs. 

8.  The  Ability  of  Prayer  to  Stand  the  Pragmatic 
Test  Is  Winning  Back  the  Faith  of  Many. 

The  question  of  pragmatism — "Does  it  work?" — 
is  one  by  which  every  doctrine  and  theory  must 
ultimately  be  tested.  That  prayer  "works"  is  borne 
out  by  the  testimony  of  Christian  consciousness.  It 
is  the  theorist  alone  who  doubts  its  reality  and 
efficacy.  Those  who  pray  most  are  most  assured 
of  its  practical  utility.  They  are  not  found  asking, 
"What  profit  shall  there  be  if  we  pray  unto  the 
Almighty?"  They  know  in  themselves,  they  know 
from  what  their  ears  have  heard,  and  their  eyes 
have  seen,  that  it  pays.  Nor  does  their  faith  stand 
alone.  Successive  generations  of  saints  joyfully 
testify  that  it  has  accomplished  definite  results  in 
their  own  lives,  and  in  the  lives  of  those  for  whom 
they  have  prayed. 

First  of  all,  then,  prayer  works  in  experience. 
It  brings  to  the  one  who  employs  it  present  returns. 
These  returns  are  none  the  less  real  and  valid  be- 
cause they  are  mainly  within  the  spiritual  sphere 
of  things.  Evidence  regarding  the  benefits  to  be 
derived  from  prayer  within  the  material  sphere  is 
not  always  forthcoming,  for  the  good  reason  that 
God  subordinates  the  material  to  the  spiritual,  and 


298  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

instead  of  being  chiefly  "meat  purveyor,"  he  is  the 
giver  of  abundant  Hfe.  There  are  things  which  he 
values  more  than  immunity  from  outward  ills;  and 
yet  this  is  the  thing  for  which  people  generally 
pray,  and  by  which  they  test  the  validity  of  prayer. 
In  applying  the  pragmatic  test  to  prayer  we  have 
to  consider  its  chief  end.  If  that  end  is  gained,  it 
is  a  success ;  if  it  is  lost,  it  is  a  failure.  But  what- 
ever doubts  may  be  had  touching  the  direct  answer 
to  specific  petitions,  the  reflex  influence  of  prayer 
cannot  be  questioned.  It  avails  within  the  person 
who  prays,  bringing  upon  his  parched  heart  the  dew 
of  heaven,  and  undergirding  him  with  strength  for 
the  battle  of  life.  Yet  prayer  is  never  merely  reflex. 
In  answer  to  prayer  God  does  something;  he  im- 
parts some  substantial  benefit.  A  saying  like  that 
of  George  Meredith,  "He  who  prays  rises  from 
prayer  a  better  man,"  has  no  meaning  unless  God, 
in  answer  to  his  prayer,  makes  the  man  who  prays 
to  him  a  better  man.  So  certain  is  this  ethical 
result  that  some  one  has  said,  "Leave  off  praying 
to  God ;  for  either  praying  will  make  you  leave  off 
sinning,  or  continuing  in  sin  will  make  you  desist 
from  praying."  Prayer  not  only  sets  the  human 
will  against^sin,  it  also  opposes  divine  p^wer  to 
the  power  of  sin.  But  the  reenforcement  which  it 
brings  through  the  immediate  action  of  God  upon 
the  soul,  evil  suggestion  is  repelled,  the  onrush  of 
the  powers  of  darkness  is  overcome,  the  hidden 
springs  of  motive  are  purified,  drooping  courage  is 
revived,  faith  is  strengthened,  and  the  heart  of  wax 


IN  THE  CHRISTIANITY  OF  TO-DAY  299 

becomes  the  heart  of  oak.  There  is  no  possible 
condition  in  which  prayer  cannot  bring  needed  help 
to  the  soul. 

Are  you  discouraged?    Pray.    It  will  comfort  you. 
Are  you  peaceful?     Pray.     It  will  confirm  you. 
Are  you  tempted?    Pray.    It  will  uphold  you. 
Are  you  fallen?     Pray.     It  will  uplift  you. 

It  is  a  matter  of  common  experience  and  observa- 
tion that  all  spiritual  quickening  and  decHne  begin 
in  the  prayer  closet.  Fraser  of  Brea  is  the  mouth- 
piece of  every  Christian  when  he  confesses,  "I  find 
myself  better  or  worse  as  I  decay  or  decrease  in 
prayer."  When  hearts  are  cold,  and  the  lips  of 
prayer  are  dumb,  the  life  of  the  spirit  languishes, 
but  when  closeness  of  walk  with  God  is  maintained, 
the  humblest  saint  is  lifted  up  into  the  Eternal  and 
his  commonplace  life  is  glorified.  But  prayer  has 
more  than  a  "culture  value."  In  the  more  strenuous 
aspects  of  life,  when  fierce  conflicts  have  to  be  met, 
the  power  of  prayer  is  equally  potent.  We  go  down 
in  defeat  when  we  neglect  to  pray ;  we  conquer  by 
prayer.  Spurgegn  pithily  remarks,  "Soldiers  fight 
best  upon  their  knees.  The  praying  legion  is  the 
thundering  legion,  and  chases  the  enemy  before  it." 
John  Knox  was  a  preacher  mighty  in  the  Word, 
but  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  discerned  the  real  secret 
of  his  power  when  she  said  that  she  feared  his 
prayers  more  than  all  the  armies  of  Europe.  Martin 
Luther  shook  the  world  with  the  blow  of  his  hamffler 
when~Be  nailed  his  famous  thesis  to  the  door  of  the 


300  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

church  at  Wittenberg,  but  the  historian  who  affirmed 
that  "in  his  prayer-closet  the  Reformation  was  born" 
traced  his  power  to  the  fountainhead.  David 
Livingstone,  dying  upon  his  knees  in  a  lonely  hut 
in  the  heart  of  Africa,  committing  the  cause  which 
had  consumed  his  life  to  God,  and  praying  that  the 
open  sore  of  African  slavery  might  be  healed,  re- 
veals the  secret  of  his  power.  Who  knows  but  more 
was  accomplished  by  his  prayers  in  bringing  about 
the  absolution  of  African  slavery  than  by  his  heroic 
and  toilsome  labors  ?  But  why  multiply  cases  ?  The 
whole  history  of  the  church  abundantly  shows  that 
men  of  power  in  the  service  of  the  kingdom  have 
invariably  been  men  of  prayer. 

The  value  of  prayer  as  a  distinct  form  of  social 
energy,  working  for  human  redemption  has  also  to 
be  recognized.  It  has  a  place  to  fill  and  a  work  to 
do  for  which  no  substitute  can  be  found.  By  it 
men  influence  one  another  for  good ;  by  it  the  King- 
dom is  brought  in.  When  the  church  ceases  to 
pray  she  ceases  to  conquer,  and  when  her  prayer- 
life  is  revived  the  whole  aspect  of  things  is  changed, 
and  she  rises  from  the  dust  clad  in  the  beautiful 
garments  of  salvation.  From  her  a  new  power  goes 
forth  by  which  stony  hearts  are  melted  to  contrition, 
the  lives  of  notorious  sinners  transformed,  and  the 
onflowing  tide  of  social  iniquity  turned  back.  This 
change  may  not  always  come  in  the  way  in  which 
it  was  expected ;  it  may  come  as  the  silent  dew  when 
it  was  expected  to  come  as  a  downpouring  rain;  it 
may  come  as  a  gentle  zephyr  when  it  was  expected 


IN  THE  CHRISTIANITY  OF  TO-DAY  301 

to  come  as  a  mighty  rushing  wind;  it  may  come  as 
"a  voice  of  gentle  stillness"  when  it  was  expected 
to  come  as  a  thunderbolt  rending  the  rocks  to 
pieces.  But  in  whatever  way  it  comes,  it  is  a  re- 
creating power,  changing  the  landscape  of  life  so 
that  ''instead  of  the  thorn  there  comes  up  the  fir 
tree;  and  instead  of  the  brier  there  comes  up  the 
myrtle  tree,"  and  within  the  circle  with  which  it 
operates  everything  is  remade. 

Thus  we  see  that  in  the  entire  circle  of  human 
life  prayer  works.  In  the  inward  life  of  the  spirit 
it  has  substantial  results  to  show.  By  it  great  things 
are  accomplished  in  the  larger  life  of  the  world.  It 
establishes  new  conditions,  releases  new  forces, 
secures  new  blessings;  it  provides  new  channels 
through  which  God's  saving  grace  can  pour  itself 
into  the  souls  of  men;  it  helps  God  to  bring  about 
the  things  for  which  he  is  ceaselessly  working;  it 
enables  God  to  bear  new  witness  to  himself  and  it 
enables  man  to  bear  new  witness  to  God.  Those 
who  put  it  to  the  test  have  all  doubts  touching  its 
efficiency  set  to  rest,  and  we  are  ever  ready  to  ex- 
claim with  wonder  and  gratitude,  "Behold  what 
prayer  has  wrought!" 

At  the  present  hour,  when  Europe  is  in  the  con- 
vulsions of  war,  and  the  nations  are  being  brought 
before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ,  prayer  is  being 
put  to  the  pragmatic  test  as  perhaps  never  before. 
Out  of  the  depths  men  are  crying  mightily  to  God. 
Whatever  objections  they  may  have  had,  philosoph- 
ical or  scientific,  touching  the  efficacy  of  prayer. 


302  THE  PLACE  OF  PRAYER 

have  all  melted  away  in  the  fire  of  a  devastating 
judgment.  They  have  been  driven  back  to  God. 
Their  deep-flowing  instincts  have  swept  away  all 
refuges  of  lies;  the  needs  of  the  heart  and  the  Hfe 
have  silenced  the  sophistries  of  the  brain.  No  longer 
do  they  think  of  God  as  imprisoned  within  his-law.s, 
and  as  impotent  to  help ;  but  as  an  Almighty  Father 
whose  ear  is  open  to  the  cry  of  his  sorely  stricken 
children,  and  who  is  able  to  bring  them  relief. 
Hence,  with  one  consent  they  are  bowing  at  his  feet. 
But  here  lies  the  difficulty  in  the  present  situation. 
The  nations  engaged  in  mortal  conflict  are  Chris- 
tian nations ;  they  are  praying  to  the  same  God, 
and  they  are  praying  for  the  same  thing.  But  it  is 
all  too  evident  that  they  are  not  always  praying  in 
the  Christian  way  and  in  the  Christian  spirit.  Some- 
times they  are  praying  to  the  Father  of  all  as  if  he 
were  a  tribal  god,  and  are  putting  in  a  claim  to  the 
monopoly  of  his  favor  as  if  they  were  his  special 
favorites.  Professedly  they  are  praying  in  the  name 
of  Christ,  while  praying  neither  as  he  taught  his 
disciples  to  pray  nor  as  he  himself  prayed.  Alas, 
much  of  the  prayer  offered  up  by  the  warring 
Christian  nations  is  not  Christian!  It  is  vain- 
glorious, selfish,  revengeful,  unloving.  It  is  prayer 
against  their  brother  men,  instead  of  for  them.  That 
such  prayer  will  return  void  to  those  who  offer  it 
up  does  not  admit  of  question.  But  any  nation  that 
is  truly  Christian  in  its  praying;  any  nation  that 
bows  before  God  in  a  spirit  of  humility;  that  prays 
for  a  blessing  upon  its  foes;  that  prays  for  victory 


IN  THE  CHRISTIANITY  OF  TO-DAY  303 

to  the  right ;  for  the  actualizing  of  brotherhood ;  for 
the  prevalence  of  righteousness;  for  the  enthrone- 
ment of  love;  and  for  the  coming  of  the  Father's 
Kingdom,  will  be  heard.  Its  prayer,  being  begotten 
of  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  being  in  accordance  with 
prophecy  and  promise,  and  being  in  harmony  with 
God's  unfolding  purpose  of  grace,  cannot  fail  of 
ultimate  fulfillment. 


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